Maximum Ride: Our 'Normal' Lives
by Amy-Katherine914
Summary: Max and the Flock get to settle down after Itex is gone. Max and the gang have to go through teenage troubles and Flock troubles. Fax, swearing, romance, action, sillyness. Read please, it's good!
1. Chapt 1: It begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride- James Patterson does. However, I do own plot (-I think… lol) and Max's friends and band members. I also don't own any songs in this story but I made it so Max writes the songs after her feelings- Please no one get mad! I'm disclaiming- disclaiming, I tell you!**

Chapter 1:

Okay, Maximum Ride, here. I'm sure you know my story. If you don't, well then you won't understand any of this because I'm not going to explain the entire story. But if you do know me, then good.

Everyone's abilities in the Flock grew and expanded. Angel can still read minds, speak to fish, breathe underwater, and shape shift. But when she does shape shift, it cancels out all her other abilities. Gazzy can still, well, rip ass worse than the most disgusting people in the world combined and he can still copy voices. Nudge, well, Nudge is Nudge. She still talks like crazy but her metal attraction and ability to read people's leftover emotions is stronger. She can control the intensity of the emotions and where the metal can move and how. Fang can still turn invisible but he can stay invisible for as long as he likes. For some reason, when he's invisible I can still see him. Like, I know he's there and can see his silhouette. No one else can, therefore, he can never sneak up on me or scare me. He can also speak to birds- it seems like an ability that we all would have but, sadly, only he can. I, Maximum Ride, have had awesome abilities come to me. My supersonic speed has increased- that's right. I can fly up to 500 miles per hour. It's sweet and I don't even break a sweat. I can also hide my wings. When I don't want them shown, they disappear into my back and when I want them out, they come out. Harmless and painlessly, I might add. I also had telepathy- meaning that I can move things with my mind. Iggy is still blind but when he really needs to see, he can- perfectly. He has all the same abilities and they've grown to an amazing extent. When he needs to catalog an injury, he just needs to poke one part of a person- like a wrist- and he'll know right away what's wrong and what hurts and such. He and Gazzy still make bombs and their variety is amazing. They're starting to make harmless ones and they've stashed all the harmful ones around the house and have a controller to set them off- in case of an attack. Total is Total. He can fly like the rest of us and can talk- oh in case you forgot, he's a dog. He's gotten really good at flying.

We've all changed throughout our lives. Well, kind of. We still act the same sometimes, but our intelligence has grown thanks to school. No, not School as in _the _School- we destroyed it and Itex. I mean, school with other kids and such. To catch you up some more, Fang, Iggy, and I are 15 now and freshmen, Nudge is 12 and a sixth grader, Gazzy is 9 and a third grader and Angel is 7 and a first grader. We all live with Dr. Martinez- my mom- and Ella- my half sister. Jeb, my father and the Flock's backstabbing ex-guardian, is in jail since he helped at many points with the school and Itex. We're all happy. Ella is the same age as Nudge.

I have many friends as do the rest of us. I don't know them all by heart but when I see them, I know who they are. My flock doesn't know this but I'm in a nationwide known band called Saviors of the World. I know, you think I'm lying but I'm not. We started off as a local band then people told people who told more people who turned out to be talent agents. I said that we couldn't do concerts out of state and my friends agreed- we still had school and friends and family here. Our concerts are so 'special' as the agent said, because people would fly in from around the country just to here us play. We have CDs and DVDs of concerts and my family never knows it's me. Maybe it's because I have a stage name and I sound completely different singing than I do talking. My friends know about my wings and they don't care. They said they wouldn't tell a soul- they're cool that way. The same goes for the Flocks' friends, too. Not one of them cares about wings- my ability really helps at school and in concert and at photo shoots as well.

Now, I'll start with preparations…

"Toby! Where'd I put Scarlett?" I yelled. Scarlett is my electric guitar. Toby is the lead male singer and guitar player. I'm the lead female singer, guitar player, pianist, songwriter, and manager. Oh, and dancer- yeah, that's right. Dancer.

"Um, I think you left her at Stain's house." he responded not looking up from his book. Stain was the drummer and his stage name is self-explanatory. He's very messy.

"Great…" Meaning, I lost her. "I'll just use Saber." I said. Saber was my acoustic guitar. Toby laughed at me. "T-bone, this isn't funny. I need Scarlett."

He stopped laughing and looked at me. "Don't worry, Lazuli. Everything's okay. He'll bring her back in great condition." Yeah, he called me Lazuli- that's my stage name. His is T-bone. Our other pianist is Jane and she's Black Hole. Bass guitar is Nina and she's Frenchy. Don't ask about our stage names, that's a really long story. "Hey, why doesn't your family know about the band?"

I looked at him. "Of course they know about the band- how could they not? We're mega popular."

"You know what I mean…"

I sighed. "I don't know. I thought they would know at first but they didn't so I didn't bring it up. Why?" I sat down next to him on the couch. We were at an old room at school. No one used this room any more and it's far away from the other buildings so the school let us keep it. Now it's our hangout and band room.

"Maybe it'd be best for them to know why you leave home a lot the night of the concerts. Wait- how could Angel _not _know? She can read minds." He set his book on the side table.

"Whenever she invades my mind, I can feel it. I block her out by blasting out guitar solos in my head. She thinks it's too loud and leaves. Peace o' cake." I smiled.

"I think they should go to a concert." he stated.

"Sure, if they can get tickets." Our concerts are extremely hard to attend since many people out of sate want to see us and buy all the tickets. All our concerts stay in Arizona.

"C'mon. Cheekie's waiting for us." Cheekie is our choreographer. We got up, left the room, and locked the door. "Will ya?" Great, he loves the flying thing.

I pulled my wings out and grabbed a good hold on him. Then, I shot up in the air. Just, jumped and flapped- simple as that. We made it to the ballet studio in less than 15 minutes.

We ended dance rehearsal an hour later and went home. My mom and sister are the only ones who know where I go with my fellow band members and they do an excellent job not thinking about it. When I got home, it was dinnertime, but I didn't eat. I was too excited. I wrote 4 new songs earlier that day. I was going over the rhythm in my head over and over again.

_Max? Are you okay?_ It was Angel.

I laughed internally. _Yeah, Angel. Why?_

_Well, you never really let me read your mind anymore. And you never hang out with us anymore. I mean you do- just not as much. What do you do with Toby, Stan _(Stain), _Karen _(Cheekie), _Jane, and Nina?_

"Nothing, Angel." I said out loud.

Everyone looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You actually talked to her through her mind, Angel. First time in months. How'd you do it?" That was Nudge.

"I've always talked to her telepathically. I just didn't tell you guys. After all, these conversations _are _private." She looked so innocent.

"Yeah, don't ask what I think about." I retorted.

"Max, you just don't talk to us anymore. You're always off into La-la land or something. Sometimes, I catch you staring at the wall." Gazzy explained.

"Sorry," I shook my head and poked my fork at my food, playfully, "I just… have a lot on my mind right now."

"Like what?" asked Ella, smiling. She wanted me to tell everyone just like T-bone.

"¡Ciérrelo! ¡Yo no los deseo que sabiendo ahora! Además, ellos no me creerían de todos modos." That's right. I know Spanish. (**Translation: zip it! I don't want them to know now. Plus, they wouldn't believe me anyways.)**

My flock looked at me. They knew I spoke other languages and when I do, it's kind of important. The kind of important stuff that I won't tell them. Now I had to tell them- great. Make something up.

I kinda made this up on the spot- even though it's true. "I found out I have a birthmark."

Everyone just looked at me. Not like 'okay, that's not it' but like 'whaaaaaa-?'

"Yeah, I was changing and something caught my eye in the mirror so I looked and… there it was." Okay, great. Now they'll ask where.

"Where?" Nudge asked. See? I was right.

I stood up and pointed to the spot above the hem of my jeans at the top.

"Can we see it?" Angel asked smiling up at me.

"Ew… I don't want to see a nasty birthmark. Count me out." That was Gazzy.

"I agree."

"Me, too." Iggy and Fang.

I slightly lifted up my shirt in the back to reveal a detailed mark of a heart with wings. It-

"It looks like a tattoo! It's so cool!" yelled my mom coming over and looking herself.

At that, Fang and Gazzy got curious. "Would you mind? I don't want to get slapped." said Gazzy.

I shook my head. They came over and looked. I heard murmurs of 'cool' and 'awesome.'

"Angel, would you send a picture of it to me? I want to see it." Iggy felt so out of place. He can't see unless he needs to see but he doesn't need to so he can't. "Oh, that is cool. Did you get a tattoo without telling us?" He smiled.

I glared and when I thought the glaring was useless, he cringed. Confused? Me too.

"I sent him a picture of your glare." Angel. We all laughed.

"And no, I didn't get a tattoo." I put my shirt down and sat in my chair once more. Everyone went back to their seats and started talking about Saviors of the World.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you guys!" Ella yelled to everyone. She turned to me. "Conseguí billetes para ver su banda. Yo los gané de la radio. ¿Está bien si ellos averiguan así? ¡Entonces, ellos podrían estar como 'ah mi, cielos! ¡Max?'! ¿Será tan gracioso, por favor? Conseguí aún detrás del telón pasos e invito al después de partido." (**Translation: I got tickets to see your band. I won them off the radio. Is it okay if they find out that way? Then, they could be like 'oh my, gosh! Max?!' It'll be so funny, please? I even got backstage passes and invites to the after party.)**

"Eso es una idea buena, Max. ¿Qué dice usted?" That was my mom. (**Translation: That is a good idea, Max. What do you say?)**

I nodded. "Go ahead."

"Okay." Ella squealed. "I got seven tickets, backstage passes, and after party tickets to see Saviors of the World!"

Everyone exploded with excitement.

"Wait, why did you ask Max about it first? And why isn't she excited, too? She loves S.O.T.W. (Saviors of the World)." Nudge asked Ella. They all think that I love S.O.T.W. because I have the vocal version of the songs on when I'm in the shower. They think I play a CD but I'm singing.

"Because she knew and we couldn't decide when to tell you all!" responded my mom.

"Wait, seven? What about Max and Total?" asked Gazzy.

"Total is going to act as Iggy's seeing-eye dog." I said. Oh, crap. I forgot that the ticket number wouldn't slip their minds.

"You?" Fang. Ugh. He really needs to talk more.

"I already got my ticket," I smiled. "I'm helping out backstage so I get to see the concert from backstage." And onstage.

"Everyone, it's time for bed. Come on." My mom herded them all out to their rooms.

"I'm going to sleep over at Boom's house, okay?" I said while yawning. Boom was part of stage crew and she helped set up the instruments and introduce the band.

"Sure. Do I get to see pictures?" Mom was referring to the photo shoot pictures.

I shook my head smiling. "No, only when everyone else gets to." My mom can be such a kid when she wants to be. I winked at her and then left for Boom's house.

Tomorrow should be… interesting.


	2. Chapt 2: The Concert

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, JP does. I do not own any of the songs Max 'supposedly' writes- other bands do. I'll let you know which.**

**Claimer: I own Saviors of the World, T-bone, Black Hole, Boom, Cheekie, Stain, and all the other band/crew members. And Max's stage name Lazuli- (lapis lazuli is a gem stone)**

**Sorry, Max is telekinetic not telepathic. I can't fix the words so now you know.**

Chapter 2:

_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!_ An alarm clock went off. _BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!_ Someone turn it off! _Beep, beep, bee-._ Thank you.

"Max, Max, get up! We have to get to Stain's and pick up the equipment." Who was that? Why am I shaking? Ew, something is breathing in my ear. "MAX!" it yelled.

"Agh!" I fell of my bed. When I opened my eyes, I saw Boom standing over me laughing. I stood up holding my head. "What's so funny?"

"You hit your head and fell off the bed. Now get dressed, we have to go get everything." She left the guest room so I could change.

Oh, right. Today was our concert introducing our new CD _She Hates Me. _**(Song SHE HATES ME is originally by Puddle of Mudd.) **I got dressed in a blue t-shirt and skinny jeans along with my flip-flops.

I went to the kitchen where Boom's mom- Speaker- was. We nickname all our friends and friends' parents. We call Boom's mom Speaker because she's a public speaker.

"Hi, sweets. How was your day?" She asked me. Yes, she called me sweets.

"Pretty good. Hey, Boom," I looked over at her stuffing her mouth full of scrambled eggs. They were hanging out of her mouth. "The Flock, Ella, and my mom are going to the concert."

Speaker and Boom stopped what they were doing. "Really?" They both asked. Speaker was ecstatic and Boom- I couldn't really tell. Her mouth was full and her words were muffled. "Chew and swallow, Stacey." Speaker said to her daughter.

She did then, she talked to me. "You finally told them?"

I shook my head. "No, Ella got tickets and they're going to find out tonight while we perform."

Later, while Boom and I were pulling into Stain's driveway…

"Okay, Lazuli. I really need to tell you something. You probably won't like it but- whatever."

I looked over at Boom. She had on an apologetic look. A look I've gotten a lot of.

My eyes widened. "No, no, no. Boom- they said I didn't!"

"Look, Lazuli. The clothes go with the album and so does the concert. You have to."

We got out of the car as I spoke next: "But my family will be there! Angel and Nudge will think I _like _wearing that, Iggy and Fang will never let me hear the end of it. Gazzy will say his eyes are burning and I'll be so embarrassed."

"Lazuli, they've seen all your other clothes. Why worry now?" We walked up to Stain's front door.

"Because now they'll know it's me!"

"When they find out it's you, they'll know you wore all those other clothes. So, what's the worst that can happen if you add one more outfit?"

Stain opened the door and- he actually looked clean. "Hey, come over to the garage."

We went over and he opened the garage. Inside, there were our guitars, drums, and our other equipment.

Boom rolled her head to look at me. I sighed. "Fine." She smiled. They all loved to see me move things.

I looked to my left and right. No one was looking. I waved my middle and forefinger from the gear to the car and the stuff literally flew over- ah, you got to love my powers. Once they were placed securely in the back, we took off to where the concert was being held.

It was around an hour away so we all had time to talk. "Hey, Lazuli, I hope you know that T-bone is going to start in the concert." Stain looked over at me.

I nodded. "Duh, Stain. I came up with the set-up. They'll do their songs and then we'll do the duet. Then, I'll do my songs."

"Hey, what song are you guys going to do to end the concert?" Boom looked over at me quickly before looking back at the road.

"Well," I've been thinking on this for a while. "I was thinking either Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf or Raise Your Hands by Bon Jovi. I can't really decide."

"Why not do Let it Rock then Raise your hands? You can keep them happy with your dance and then send them home with your _awesome_ guitar skills." Stain smiled at me.

"Alright! When we get there, we'll tell Toby when we get there." I sighed, content.

About twenty-five minutes later, we were there.

"Whoa…" Stain and Boom looked out the windshield with appreciation and amazement. I smiled.

The stage was in the middle of a giant field that is normally used for carnival events and stuff like that. It was extremely difficult to book. And I got it. The stage itself was humongous. There was room to run around, play instruments, dance- all at the same time. It was extremely expensive looking.

"Lazuli, how… how did you-." Boom cut herself off.

I shrugged. Then a great answer came to me. I studied my fingernails. "I know a guy…" They looked at me. I smiled and laughed. "The recording company paid. I just booked the place. C'mon. Let's go set up."

We got out of the car and went to unload. I pulled out my cell phone and called Black Hole. She answered on the second ring.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, it's Lazuli." I started pulling out small equipment and setting it on the ground.

_"Hey, Lapis! Are you here?" _Black Hole is the only one that calls me Lapis- that's the first part of my stage name, Lapis Lazuli.

"Yeah, we're unloading as we speak. Boom and Stain are here with me."

_"Wait there. I'll come and help." _The line went dead.

About five minutes later, Black Hole ran over, squealing.

"OMG! How did you book this place?"

"I just told them who was going to play and they said they'd let us." I said as I hugged Black Hole.

It took us forever to set everything up and get all the instruments tuned. By the time we got it all set, the entire crew and band was there. It was around 7 hours later when we set up, practiced and started getting ready. People started gathering while I was working on everyone's hair.

"Hey, Lazuli! Look at the crowd!" Boom yelled from the curtain.

"I know, I know! I saw!" I'm so excited. This is going to be the best concert ever!

T-bone ran over to the outfits and pulled his out. His was a Black shirt was a grey skull on it and baggy black pants with rips on the knee and a chain.

Once I was done with everyone's hair, they went to their outfits. They were all black. My hair was gelled and spiked at the ends to look somewhat punk. It covered my right eye. My make-up looked natural and my outfit- ugh! I hate it- mostly because my family will see it. My shirt was vest-like and was leather. It had a V-neck and leather straps on the front for style. My pants were tight leather that showed off how skinny I was- as did my shirt. And my shoes were black strap heels: three inches high. My microphone was a small headset. My pants were low cut and my birthmark showed. My top showed my belly-button. Over my vest/top thing, I had a white dress shirt on. When the time came, I would take that off to reveal the vest-y thing.

My hat was a black Fedora. It was sitting on the top of Scarlett's neck on stage by the speakers.

"Oh… my… gosh! L-Lazuli, your family's here!" Stain yelled over to me.

"Is that so?" I asked distractedly. Then, I realized what he said. "What?!" I ran over to the curtain. Sure enough, they were there in the front. They had their backstage passes around their necks. Angel, Nudge, and Ella were talking excitedly. Mom, Iggy, and Fang were looking happy and at peace. Fang was telling Iggy about the stage. Total was looking around, probably wishing he was allowed to talk. I strained my ears to hear their conversations.

Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. My super hearing became advanced as well. I could pick out conversations and listen to only those.

_"I can't wait to see the band perform!" _Angel said happily.

_"OMG! I know, I mean- like- I'm just so excited! I can't believe Ella got tickets! Oh, I wonder how Max is backstage- she has got to be going GAGA over T-bone! He seems so hot! I can't wait to hear their new songs! I'm so-." _That was obviously Nudge_._

_"Nudge, we need our hearing to hear the band's new songs. 'Kay? Just- keep it in your head." _Fang. He's speaking more and more lately_._

_"Hey, Angel, can you hear Max's mind? How is she backstage?" _asked Iggy.

_"Um… She's listening in on our conversation." _Angel answered.

They all laughed.

_Hey, Angel. Having fun?_

_Yeah, Max. _She thought back to me.

_'Kay, I have to get back to work on Lazuli's hair and make-up, okay?_

_Mm-hmm!_ After that response, she told everyone what we thought to each other. _Fang's excited to see what you did to her. He thinks you're bad at make-up and hair- he's so clueless. _I could see that Angel was smirking.

_"Hey, Fang," _She turned her attention to him but she was also- apparently- talking to me. _"You shouldn't criticize Max that way."_

_"Why?" _He had no idea what I could do to him. _"It's not like she'll know I said… Angel, please tell me you didn't."_

Then I used me telekinesis to mess up his hair. It looked a little bit like a tumble weed. _"She's laughing at you." _Angel informed him. Then, they all laughed at him.

"TEN MINUTES! TEN MINUTES 'TILL Saviors of the World PERFORM!" came the loudspeaker- right by my ear.

"T-bone! Get your headset on!" I yelled at Toby, who was reading his book and eating chips.

He shook his head and looked at me. "Nope. I'm using the actual microphone." He stood up and went by the curtain where I was previously standing. "Whoa… That's a LOT of people."

We all did our warm ups and our warm up beat. Stain, Frenchy, Black Hole, and T-bone ran out on stage when the speakers screamed, "_**AND HERE THEY ARE: Saviors of the World!"**_ I stayed backstage.

I had everything set. Solos in head to block Angel out: check. Microphone set: check. Clothes: check. Attitude: Oh, yeah. I always have that.

The band did all of Toby's songs: Spinning (**1**), Gotta Be Somebody (**2**), Light On (**3**), Better Than Me (**4**), Drift and Die (**5**), Rise Above This (**6**), Without You (**7**), Famous (**8**), Love Lockdown (**9**), Fake it (**10**), Blurry (**11**), and She Hates Me (**12**).

Then, they started the duet-Broken (**13**) - Toby and I were supposed to do. I got ready for my lines while Toby started:

Toby:

_I wanted you to know  
That I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high  
And steal your pain  
Away  
I'd keep your photograph  
Cause I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain  
_

Both:_  
Because I'm broken  
When I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right  
When you're gone away  
_People started to cheer like crazy when they heard my voice- but I stayed behind the curtains. When I start to sing by myself, that's when I walk out. Everyone- and I mean everyone- was looking around eagerly for Lapis Lazuli (me) - including my family. And yes, Fang was too.

Toby:_  
You've gone away  
you don't feel me here  
Anymore  
_I started to walk out when it was my part. When people saw me, they cheered even louder. My family looked over and their jaws dropped.

Lazuli:_  
The worst is over now  
and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high  
and steal my pain  
both:_

_Away  
_Lazuli:

_There__'s so much left to learn  
And none left to fight  
I wanna hold you high  
And steal your pain  
_I stood over by Toby- right next to him and faced the crowd.

Both:_  
Because I'm broken  
When I'm open  
And I don't feel like  
I am strong enough  
Cause I'm broken  
When I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right  
When your gone away  
_(Still both):_  
Because I'm broken  
When I'm open  
And I don't feel like  
I am strong enough  
Because I'm broken  
When I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right  
when your gone away  
_Toby:_  
You've gone away  
You don't feel me here  
Anymore_

Toby was breathing kind of hard because of all the songs he sang before.

"Hey, everybody! How's it going?" I said into the headset.

They cheered.

"That good, huh? Well, did you like all of T-bone's songs?" They cheered again. "Well, I'm flattered because I wrote ever single one of 'em. And I wrote mine as well. I got to tell you all," I started walking around the stage to keep their attention on me while Toby got off stage. "This… has got to be… the biggest crowd… we have _ever _had before. Give yourselves a round of applause because- I think T-bone forgot to say this- you're all going to be in our DVD of the concert and on LIVE TV! Look around you at all the cameras! They are shooting live across the nation!" Everyone freaked out and cheered more- including my family.

"Ready to hear what I have ready for you?" I asked and- once more- they cheered louder. "Alright then."

I went over to the piano and sat on the bench. I played all the songs that needed piano: Forgiven (**14**), Breathe No More (**15**), Lithium (**16**), Good Enough (**17**), and Farther Away (**18**). Then, I had to do three songs that needed me to dance in them. I got up from the bench and got started: Womanizer (**19**), Starstruck (**20**), and I'm Gone, I'm Going (**21**). There were two more of our new songs to go. So far, everyone loved them. And in between every song, I'd say a little something and answer a little question that has been asked on our website. The last songs I played guitar in. It was already dark out and we shut off the stage lights. I took off my white shirt to reveal my black, leather vest. I grabbed Scarlett (She was no longer wearing my hat. I put it on during my dance numbers and now it's resting on the piano). I walked over to the curtain leading to backstage and took off the headset. I got a microphone and its stand. It was wireless.

I brought it over to the front of the stage and set it down. I started with the first song: Call Me When You're Sober (**22**). The spotlight came on but it only showed my face. You couldn't see Scarlett or my body- My playing the guitar was supposed to surprise them and make them giddy. It was actually quiet. Everyone was waiting. The music started:

_Don't cry to me.  
If you loved me,  
You would be here with me.  
You want me,  
Come find me.  
Make up your mind.  
_My guitar solo. They put all the lights up so people could see me and my guitar._  
Should I let you fall?  
Lose it all?  
So maybe you can remember yourself.  
Can't keep believing,  
We're only deceiving ourselves.  
And I'm sick of the lie,  
And you're too late._

Don't cry to me.  
If you loved me,  
You would be here with me.  
You want me,  
Come find me.  
Make up your mind.

Couldn't take the blame.  
Sick with shame.  
Must be exhausting to lose your own game.  
Selfishly hated,  
No wonder you're jaded.  
You can't play the victim this time,  
And you're too late.

Don't cry to me.  
If you loved me,  
You would be here with me.  
You want me,  
Come find me.  
Make up your mind.

You never call me when you're sober.  
You only want it 'cause it's over,  
It's over.

How could I have burned paradise?  
How could I - you were never mine.

So don't cry to me.  
If you loved me,  
You would be here with me.  
Don't lie to me,  
Just get your things.  
I've made up your mind.

After that song I said, "You all like that?" They cheered and wolf-whistled. "Yeah, I know." I laughed. "These outfits we're all wearing… they're the outfits we're going to wear in the photo shoots for this album and, uh, for the music videos so you know what album it'll go with. So-." someone did a very loud wolf-whistle. I turned toward the curtain. "Hey, T-bone. Come on out here and take a picture- it'll last longer." I laughed into the microphone.

Hey came out. When he stood next to me, he yelled into the microphone, "Hey, everyone! Miss me?"

"Yeah, T-bone here will play guitar for you while I sing the last song; Weight of the World (**23**)." Everyone cheered at that. Toby reached for Scarlett. I pulled away. "Whoa- no one touches Scarlett. Use Calypso- your guitar." He sighed and went for his guitar. When he came back, Scarlett was in her stand and I had the microphone in my left hand; stand in right. We started in on the song. Throughout the song, Toby and I walked around the stage and I went down the side stairs and went to the crowd behind the rails. I ran past them all and high-fived their outstretched hands. Then, I ran back up to the stage. The song ended and I sighed into the microphone.

"Well, everyone. That's it for our concert with our new album's songs. Although our songs have been sung, Our ending song hasn't." I smiled big as everyone chanted 'Play it. play it, play it!' "We have a surprise for all of you here. Instead of singing _one_ song by another artist, we're playing… _two. _We couldn't decide. Would you like to know them?" They cheered. "Are you sure?" More cheering and 'yes's' from my family. "Alright, the two songs are… Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolph and Raise Your Hands by Bon Jovi. The reason- the reason… I'm sorry; let me catch my breath, please." I laughed into the microphone. "Okay, I'm good." I chuckled a little after that. "Trust me, if you stood under blazing hot stage lights and had to dance, piano, guitar, and sing your guts out- you'd be tired too. Now, we chose those songs because with Let it Rock, we have an amazing dance routine that we all came up with. And with Raise Your Hands, There's an awesome solo I get to do. T-bone," I looked over at him as he took Calypso off from around him and handed him to a stage crew. "Take it away." I handed him the mic and the lights dimmed. All the dancers came out and formed into the shape of a pyramid. I was at the front. My hat was on and it covered my eyes. We all stood very still and waited for our cue to dance. The lights turned back to normal and I stepped forward.

"We're not starting just yet." Toby said to the crowd. He handed me the mic.

"That's right. We called in a last minute favor and got a special guest to come and sing the song with T-bone. I think you know who I'm talking about." I smiled. "Some are probably thinking 'oh my, gosh! Kevin Rudolph!' Well, no. You see, Rudolph had a guest singing with him in that song and… ladies and gents, here he is… Mr. Lil Wayne!"

Lil Wayne ran out from backstage with his own mic. He spoke into it. "Hey, everyone! I'm so glad to be here! They filled me in on the dance and- man! - you all are going to love it! I get a part in it too!" He shook Toby's hand and gave me a hug. "Why don't you join the rest of the dancers, Lazuli? And I will stand right," he moved three steps over to the right. "here." People in the crowd laughed and cheered. I ran over to the front of the dancers again and took my position. I'm not going to explain the dance because it's too hard to. I will say that it was fun and that I got to break dance.

After that song, Lil Wayne said goodbye and ran backstage once more. I grabbed Scarlett and took my position in front of another mic stand. Don't worry; there was a mic there with it. Raise Your Hands began and soon came my solo. I have to say it, I rocked! And people did as the song was called; Raised their hands. After that we said goodnight and went backstage.

We all collapsed onto the chairs and couches. About twenty minutes later, my family came in. They were all hyped up and jittery.

**Okay, so I #d all the songs. This shows that I do NOT own them. Here all the songs' real creators:**

**1. Jack's Mannequin**

**2. Nickelback**

**3. David Cook**

**4. Hinder**

**5. Puddle of Mudd**

**6. Seether**

**7. Hinder**

**8. Puddle of Mudd**

**9. Kanye West**

**10. Seether**

**11. Puddle of Mudd**

**12. Puddle of Mudd**

**13. Seether ft. Amy Lee**

**14. Within Temptation**

**15. Evanescence**

**16. Evanescence**

**17. Evanescence**

**18. Evanescence**

**19. Britney Spears**

**20. Lady GaGa**

**21. Lesley Roy**

**22. Evanescence**

**23. Evanescence**

**Just so everyone's happy. Like I said, I don't own those songs. Max just 'writes' them. I'm not stealing just using the songs. They come up later, I promise- I think.**

**Please, review. give suggestions. I got stuck. Like it? Hate it? let me know, please!**

**~Amy-Katherine914**


	3. Chapt 3: Fang Tattoo

**Disclaimer: I don't own Max Ride.**

**Claimer: I do own Saviors of the World, band/crew members, and the Flocks' friends.**

**Chapter 3:**

"Since when have you been Lapis Lazuli?" Iggy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Since the band first came out. What'd you all think?" I sat up straight.

Everyone started talking at once and I heard some words from each person. Then, they were quiet again.

"How were you able to keep Angel clueless?" Fang sat next to me and put his feet up on the coffee table.

"I blocked my mind." Toby tossed me a water bottle and he didn't toss it very far. I used my telekinesis to pull it up back into the air and carried it over to me. "Thanks."

My family stared at me in shock.

"Why the hell did you do that? This concert's live!" Nudge scolded.

I shook my head. "No, cameras aren't allowed back here. This area is for our privacy. And they all know about our wings and stuff so relax."

They all did.

"Hey, guys," Fang tore his gaze from my face to the Flock, Mom, and Ella. "Why don't you go around and say hi to the crew and band?"

They all left: except Fang. He just sat the next to me. I put my feet on the floor and dug under the couch. I pulled out my semi-slipper shoes and took off my heels. I put the slippers on.

Fang did the oddest thing- for him anyway. He bent down and grabbed my ankles. He then swung them onto his lap and then I was in a position on the couch where I was lying down with my legs over him and my feet on a pillow next to him. Did I mention that I was wearing very skinny, leather pants that show off my bodily curves? I did? Okay, well then you should know that this situation was uncomfortable.

"Uh, Fang," I was so confused. He looked at me. "What, um- what are you doing?" I sat up as much as I could.

He shrugged. "It seems that your feet hurt so… now they're comfy." He shrugged again and looked off into space. His arms were resting over my legs (like if they weren't there, they'd be resting on his legs). To tell you the truth, I was comfy but I wasn't at the same time. I mean, this is FANG here! I can't just rest myself across him.

"Fang, I appreciate your… generosity but," I sighed. "You don't have to do that. Hey- why did you send everyone away?"

He half- smiled. "So you could have some peace and quiet. Figured you needed it. Why didn't you tell us?" He shifted under me to face me.

"I thought you guys would know at first, but you didn't so… I just," I shrugged. "Didn't say anything. Another reason was because of the outfits I have to wear. I thought that you, Iggy, and Ella would give me a hard time. Nudge and Angel probably think I like wearing this shit so… now they'll take me shopping."

He laughed. Wow, that was new. "You really think that?" I shrugged, sticking to the no- speaking role. "Max, we would never criticize you about something you love doing. Ever. Plus, you don't that bad. Is that where you go almost every week; to the concerts?"

I shrugged again. "Concerts… signings… photo shoots… recordings… practices. All that jazz…" I relaxed into the couch. "Wait," Ha, I caught that. "What do you mean, 'I don't look that bad?' Are you making fun of me?"

He shook his head with that silly smile on his face. "You look good- really damn skinny- but good. Who knew that Maximum Ride would wear leather?"

I smiled a crooked smile. "Yeah, well… she doesn't. Lapis Lazuli, however, does." I moved my feet off of his lap. "I'll be right back- I have to change."

I walked off to the costume room and right when I was about to walk in, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I swerved around just as I felt a finger tracing the birthmark on my way lower back.

"What the hell, man?!" I yelled at him. It was Fang.

He looked at me and shook his head. "That's not a birthmark, Max. That's a tattoo. Birthmarks are slightly raised above the rest of the skin around it. That's level."

"Well, I don't know how it got there! And I don't need you _touching_ it! Especially without my knowing!" I punched his shoulder. Not hard but hard enough.

"How long have you had it?"

"I don't know… Why? What are you going on about?" I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my right eyebrow.

"Did it just… pop out of nowhere?" I nodded. "That's not a birthmark. Maybe you did get a tattoo- just didn't know." I gave him a look that said 'huh?' "Maybe while you were asleep somewhere, some one came and gave you a tattoo."

"I fell asleep at the photo shoot for this album. The costume designer said it'd be cool if I did have a tattoo, but I told her no. Let me go change and we'll talk later." Without waiting for a response, I opened the door behind me and walked in. I shut the door and changed into my black T-shirt that had grey tattoo-like flowers on it and ripped skinny jeans.

I walked back out and Fang was no where to be found. "Fang?" No answer.

I walked into the other room where my family and fellow band/crew members were.

"Hey, Max. Have you seen Fang around? I think he turned invisible again." Gazzy asked me from the snack table.

I looked around the room and from the corner of my eye; I saw a black shadow move. "Gotcha." I murmured. I shook my head. "No, I haven't, Gaz. Sorry." I winked at him.

I walked around and made my way over to a chair by Ella, Mom, Angel, and Nudge. I sat down and I noticed that the black shadow came forward and stood next to me. It bent its head near mine and I looked in its direction. I could see where the eyes were and all the features. It was grinning. It was Fang. He was going to try to scare me, but as usual- it won't work.

"Nice try, Buddy boy." I smiled at him and he became visible again. He frowned.

He backed away as he said, "How can you do that? How can you see me?"

I looked at him. "Because I'm supposed to. I'm supposed to keep an eye out for my Flock and how can I do that if you keep disappearing?"

"She makes perfect sense." said Mom. "When's the after party?"

"Uh, Toby!" Toby looked over at me. "Party?"

He looked at his watch and quickly stood up. He looked back at me. "Like, 10 seconds."

We all rushed to our cars and drove to the building where the party was going to be held. It was around the block.

The band met fans and other stars and hung out with them all. It took a good total of 3 hours. We were also being interviewed on TV from different stations.

"What's it like to be in a nationwide known band in only a few months?" one reporter asked me.

"Oh, it was amazing. We never thought we had that much potential to be famous. Um, we just started off playing in Black- Hole's garage and we played at coffee shops and people told people who told more people and so on and so on. It was amazing. I wrote all my songs after my feelings that want to come out but I hold onto them and just… write them out."

About an hour after that interview, everyone left and we all went home. The Flock flew home and Mom and Ella drove home. I said bye to my 'normal' friends and extended my wings when no one was looking. I jumped into the air and started to fly.

It was an amazing feeling. I used my super speed to catch up with my flock and we all flew home. Angel started to drift off so I held her bridal-style in my arms. She started to get a little heavy. Iggy was carrying Nudge and Fang had Total.

"Hey, Iggy, Fang. I'm going to go on ahead and put Angel in bed before my arms fall off. Okay?" I whisper- shouted. They both nodded and I took off. Normally, it was about fifteen more minutes to fly home but using my speed, I got there in fifteen seconds.

I put Angel in bed and went to go get Nudge from Iggy before he dropped her. I came back again and put Nudge in her bed. Right when I laid down on my bed, my bedroom door opened.

"Max?"

I grunted my acknowledgment. I stayed in the same position laying down with my eyes closed.

"Bad time?"

"No. Just- what do you want, Fang?"

"Can we talk?"

Okay, normally, when a guy wants to talk, it's bad but with Fang- you never know. "Sure." He came in, shut the door, and sat by my side on the bed. "What about?"

"The songs you wrote…"

"Oh…'Kay. What do you… need to know?" I yawned.

"Where'd you get your inspiration from?" He sounded really curious.

"Um… my feelings. And others' as well. When we split, when I thought you were dying, while we were on the run. And also when I was angry, upset, and ecstatic- stuff like that. Why?"

"Just curious… Hey, Max?"

"Hmm?" I was starting to drift off. I knew Fang was talking but I couldn't get myself to listen. I could hear his words but it was like I was a baby and I didn't understand anything around me yet.

"Max? Max, are you asleep?"

I felt something brush my hair off my face and a set of lips peck my cheek. Then, my quilt was over me and the door shut as silently as Fang could walk- which is pretty quiet.

In my mind while I was asleep, I kept dreaming about my conversation with Fang backstage.

_"That's not a birthmark."_

That line kept repeating and repeating and repeating. How could I have gotten that mark then? Another thing that kept registering in my brain was how close Fang and I were standing next to each other during that conversation. Bodies brushing, faces just inches apart where the smallest breath sounded loud. Oh, man. I need to stop thinking that. Just… stop…thinking… about……

**So? What'd you think?! I added some Fax in there. Small but enough for the time being. Help me out! I need ideas! I'm not going to update much if I don't get at least 4 reviews! I'd like to know what you all think!**

**Amy~Katherine914**


	4. Chapt 4: Max's Date with Who?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride!**

**Thank you for using my poll and helping me chose what to do.**

**Chapter 4:**

I was walking through the hall at school when I accidentally bumped into someone. Pretty hard, too. I fell to the floor and dropped my books.

I sat up and started gathering my things.

"Sorry!" came a male voice. I looked up into a boy's face. He had nice features; green-blue eyes, freckles, tan, clear skin, and dark brown hair.

"No, no. It's okay." I picked up my things and stood up. The boy handed me some papers that I dropped. "Thanks…"

"My name is Robert. Or Robby." He said.

I shook his hand. "I'm Max."

"Oh, I know. Everyone knows you." He smiled a nice smile.

I smiled back. He looked at me like he wanted to say something else.

"Hey, um," he started. "Do you want to go to dinner sometime?" He looked so nervous.

"Sure."

"Cool, I'll pick you up at 6:00 today." He smiled a bright, happy smile again and then left.

Ella ran over to me- the elementary, middle, and high schools were all combined.

"Oh my Gosh!" she squealed.

I just looked in the direction of Robert with a small smile on my lips.

"That was Robert Jokens! He is so hot!" she jumped up and down excitedly. "What'd he want, what'd he want, what'd he want?!"

"A… date," I started to sway side to side playfully. "With me. He's going to pick me up at six today."

"Oooh! What are you guys going to do?" We started walking down the hall to meet up with everyone else. School just ended.

"Go to dinner and hang out. Why?" I looked at her.

She was smiling a giant, mischievous smile. "We are _so _going shopping!"

"No," I laughed. "I have enough clothes."

We met up with everyone and walked home. We were about to arrive home in 10 minutes when Angel squealed. Everyone looked at her.

"Max has some news!" she said in a sing-song voice.

They all looked at me with curious expressions.

"I… have a date… with Robert Jokens." I looked forward and sped my pace.

"Oh my Gosh, Max! Why didn't you tell us? OMG, we _have _to go shopping! It'll be so much fun, we could-" Iggy put his hand over Nudge's mouth.

"I'm surprised, Max. You haven't dated in two years. Why'd you suddenly change your mind?" Gazzy asked.

"Um… He seemed nice enough to give a chance." I answered, a blush creeping over my face.

"It's because he's _hot _and _popular!_" Ella giggled.

"If that's the reason… Then, Max, you are _officially _superficial." Fang pointed out, slightly laughing.

Everyone laughed at that. But I didn't. Even if he was joking, I didn't like it.

I handed my books to Ella. "I'll meet you guys at home, okay?"

She nodded and I ran forward and spread my wings out. I leaped into the air and took off.

I flew around high in the air for a while and then decided it was time to go home to get ready. I flew down and pulled my wings in. I was free-falling. I fell all the way to the ground and I was about to flip my body over to land on my feet when something grabbed me and pulled me up back into the sky. I didn't see what it was.

It flipped me over so I could face it. I pulled my wings back out and faced the culprit; it was Fang. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked him.

"I just saved you! Are you out of your mind? You don't free-fall to the ground and land that way! You would've died." He responded. For a second, he showed how scared he was but then he hid it under his expressionless façade.

I looked at him for a second, appalled. Apparently, he forgot that I could free-fall and survive. "Watch," I brought my wings in and fell through the sky again. This time, he didn't catch me. I fell all the way to the ground and landed on my feet. I made a slight crater in the earth. I looked up at Fang and then I ran into the house. I needed to get ready.

Around 5 minutes later, the doorbell rang and I was ready. I ran to the door and answered it.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

"Hey, ready to go?" Robert was smiling back.

I nodded and faced my mom who was in the kitchen looking at us by the corner. "Bye, Mom!"

She waved at us and we left, closing the door behind us.

"Wow, sweet ride." I commented. Robert's older sister was in the front seat of their Mercedes.

"Thanks!" she yelled from the car. "Now, let's go!"

Robert opened the car door for me and I slid in with him after me. We drove off.

"So," I began. "Where are we going?"

"Well, my parents don't want us going anywhere _too _expensive so… Chili's." Robert admitted sheepishly.

"That's okay. I love Chili's." I assured him.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a somewhat crowded restaurant. We got out of the car- Robby's sister included- and we walked in. We got our table and his sister left us to go to her date.

"So, what would the _amazing _Max like to eat?" he asked me, smiling.

I laughed. "How about a cheeseburger?"

"Sounds good. I'll have the same."

The waitress came over and we gave her our orders.

"I'm surprised," Robby crossed his arms and sat back. "My friends said that you don't date. Why the sudden interest?"

"Well," I looked down at my hands. "Let's just say that I got tired of being single." I smiled at him.

"What's with your family? I mean, why are there so many kids at your house- even if none of them are related?"

"Ella and I are half-sisters. Dr. Martinez is my mom. Nick (Fang), Jeff (Iggy), Krystal (Nudge), Zack (Gazzy), and Ariel (Angel) have been my friends for a long time. We've lived with each other since we were little. Zack and Ariel are brother and sister- the rest of us are just friends. When I found out my mom was… my mom, I asked if she could take in everyone else. I didn't want to be away from them. I'd miss them too much. So, yeah… it's kind of like a foster home."

He smiled. "Your mom seems like a saint."

"Yeah, she's awesome- we never get grounded."

"Lucky. I get grounded daily."

The waitress came with our food.

"Well, what do you do?"

"I don't do my chores, I mouth off, and I leave when I want." He shrugged.

"Your parents ground you because they love you. They want the best for you." I took a bite of my burger.

"Uh-huh. Then your mom doesn't love you. She doesn't ground you."

"That's because we behave around her. And when we don't… let's just say Ariel can be _very _persuasive." I smiled.

We ate our food and talked every once in a while about our favorite bands, TV shows, and movies.

When it was time to leave, Robby's sister (Betty) came and brought us to the car. She drove us to my house to drop me off.

Robby walked me to the door.

"I had a nice time tonight," I said as we stopped in front of the door.

"Me too," He smiled at me.

I just looked at him. His eyes, his nose, his freckles, and, lastly, his lips. I looked back at his eyes and saw that he wanted to kiss me, too. He was about an inch taller than me so he had to bend down a bit.

Once our lips touched, he put his hands on my waist and my arms went around his neck. We kissed for a while and then Betty honked the horn and shouted, "C'mon! Robert, Mom wants us home in about five minutes! You can suck faces tomorrow at school!" We broke apart smiling at each other and said good night. I opened the door and turned back to him.

I pecked a kiss on his cheek and ran inside, closing the door behind me.

That had to be one of the best dates of my life! This day couldn't get any better! No one could bring down my happy high.

Except three people…

________________________________________________________________________

**Ooh! I wonder who Max is talking about! Hope you liked the chapter! it was shorter than the others, I know, but I've been working on my Twilight fanfic more so I had to cut some time out to finish the other chapters on time! Check out my Twilight fanfic!**

**~~Amy-Katherine914~~**


	5. Chapt 5: Fights, friends, and music

**Disclaimer: I do not own M.R. JP does. Too bad though. I would love to own this mega popular series. Anyway, here it is!**

**Chapter 5:**

Two of them were going crazy and the other just stood there. I think you have an idea of who I'm talking about; Ella, Nudge, and Fang.

"OMG, Max! You two are such a cute couple! I mean, imagine you guys walking down the halls- everyone's staring at you. Wondering, envying, they're happy yet mad that the two most popular kids-" Ella put a hand over Nudge's mouth and Nudge shut up.

"Max!" she was taunting me. "You know better than to kiss a boy you hardly know!" She gasped an overdramatic gasp. She pulled Nudge behind her as if to shield her. "And in front of the children, too! He looked ready to eat you- and the other way around!" She and Nudge started to laugh like crazy.

I walked past them and went into my room. As soon as I shut the door and got to my bed, Fang walked in. He shut the door behind him and just stared at me.

"What?" I demanded. "Aren't you going to comment too?"

He looked thoughtful for a second and then he shook his head, not saying a word to me at all. I hated when he did that; we were best friends, ergo we tell each other everything.

"Fang, will you please just say… something?" I took my hoodie off and wiggled my wings out of me.

He just looked at me with a stare that said, 'find-out-what-my-silence-means-by-yourself.' I hated that stare. I got up and walked over to him and stood right in front of him.

I hoped this would work. I looked from his lips to his eyes very slowly for emphasis. I made my look at him gentle. "Please?" I breathed. "I know you have something to say…,"

He looked like he was going to cave but then shook his head with a smirk planted on his lips.

I slouched my shoulders in defeat. I did look sad and disappointed just now. I should use that as an advantage. "Fang," I began, backing away from him. "Why aren't you talking to me anymore? Everything seemed fine a while ago."

He shrugged.

I'll ask him a simpler question. "If you didn't want to talk to me, then why did you follow me to my room?"

He hesitated and then shrugged. Then he turned to open the door. I held it shut with my power. He looked at me, annoyed.

"I don't care if you want to leave," I stated. "I will find out what you were going to say- whether it's you saying it… or Angel."

His eyes widened by a fraction of an inch. Then he sighed. "Max," he started. "I don't… like Robert." He looked at me hoping I'd drop it.

I didn't. "Go on,"

He let go of the doorknob and leaned against my door. "He… he isn't right for you." I stared at him.

"Go on," I was going to get to the bottom of this.

"He's a bad kid."

"And like we haven't done bad things ourselves?" I pointed out.

He ignored the jibe. "He is _so _superficial. And greedy. And annoying… and rude. I- I don't approve of him. You can't date him." He looked me in the eyes.

I stood up straight, offended. "Excuse me, but who are you to decide who I date? I understand that you don't like him and I respect that- I do. But you don't have the authority or the right to say who I can and cannot date. That's my choice. And for your information, he's nice and smart and giving and deep! He was nice to me the entire time today-"

"But not to the rest of us!" He yelled at me.

I just stared at him. He's never yelled at me before. "What are you _talking _about? I've seen him talk to you, Iggy, and Gazzy and he acts just like you guys- you seem to get along really well. And the way he acts toward Angel, Ella, and Nudge is amazingly gentle. So you're right- he's not nice to you guys… He's admirable. He acts as though you guys are his own family-!"

"Lies! Those are all lies, Max! He fakes it when you come around the corner. He threatens us- he cheats off Iggy and me. He talks smack about us _to _us! And he doesn't shut up about your ass! Angel says that's all he thinks about when you're around and that if he went out with you, he'd get major popularity points."

"You're the one who's lying! Why can't you just be happy for me? Why can't you just say, 'Oh I'm so glad that you're finally dating again, Max. Really, it's been a while?'" He just stared at me. "Okay, maybe not like that- but you could at least be supportive! Like Ella and Nudge! They seem to be happy that I'm doing something with my love life!"

I sighed and let go of the door. He didn't move, he just stared. He stared with that unemotional mask plastered on his face. "Go," He didn't move. "Go!" I opened the door and pushed him out- you've got to love telekinesis.

I closed the door manually and sat back on my bed. Trust Fang to make your bright happy glow to die out in three minutes. I could hear Nudge and Ella yelling at Fang to bud out of my business and to just be happy for me. I felt horrible; I just fought with my best friend, my date seemed insignificant, and I have about four songs running through my head. And it hurt.

I went to my desk and started writing.

**(Song originally by Christina Aguilera. Called Fighter- I think it fits):**

_When I, thought I knew you  
Thinking, that you were true  
I guess I, I couldn't trust  
'Cause your bluff time is up  
'Cause I've had enough  
You were, there by my side  
Always, down for the ride  
But your, joy ride just came down in flames  
'Cause your greed sold me out of shame, mmhmm_

After all of the stealing and cheating  
You probably think that I hold resentment for you  
But, uh, uh, oh no, you're wrong  
'Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do  
I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through  
So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger  
Makes me work a little bit harder  
It makes me that much wiser  
So thanks for making me a fighter  
Made me learn a little bit faster  
Made my skin a little bit thicker  
Makes me that much smarter  
So thanks for making me a fighter

Oh, ohh

Never, saw it coming  
All of, your backstabbing  
Just so, you could cash in  
On a good thing before I realized your game  
I heard, you're going around  
Playing, the victim now  
But don't, even begin  
Feeling I'm the one to blame  
'Cause you dug your own grave, uh huh

After all of the fights and the lies  
Yes you wanted to harm me but that won't work anymore  
Uh, no more, oh no, it's over  
'Cause if it wasn't for all of your torture  
I wouldn't know how to be this way now, and never back down  
So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger  
Makes me work a little bit harder  
Makes me that much wiser  
So thanks for making me a fighter  
Made me learn a little bit faster  
Made my skin a little bit thicker  
It makes me that much smarter  
So thanks for making me a fighter

That song really came out to me. Fang and I fight sometimes and it _does _make me stronger; it teaches me to not take anyone's crap. All these songs I'm writing speak to me. For some reason, most of the songs I write are about Fang or relate to him somehow. I started writing the next one: **( Originally by Pink. Called Trouble)**

_No attorneys  
To plead my case  
No orbits  
To send me into outta space  
And my fingers  
Are bejeweled  
With diamonds and gold  
But that ain't gonna help me now_

I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I disturb my town  
I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town

You think your right  
But you were wrong  
You tried to take me  
But I knew all along  
You can take me  
For a ride  
I'm not a fool out  
So you better run and hide

I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town  
I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town

If you see me coming  
Down the street then  
You know it's time to  
Go (and you know it's time to go  
cause here comes trouble)

No attorneys  
To plead my case  
No orbits  
To send me into outta space  
And my fingers  
Are bejeweled  
With diamonds and gold  
But that ain't gonna help me now

You think your right  
But you were wrong  
You tried to take me  
But I knew all along  
You can take me  
For a ride  
Cause I'm not a fool out  
So you better run and hide

I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I disturb my town  
I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town

So if you see me coming  
Down the street then  
You know it's time to  
Go (go-oh-oh..I got)

Trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town  
I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town

Trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town  
I'm trouble  
Yeah trouble now  
I'm trouble ya'll  
I got trouble in my town  
I got trouble in my town  
I got trouble in my town

I wrote the other two songs in a rush but I did finish them. Not just the lyrics for all of them but the actual music for all the instruments needed. The last two songs were called Love Song **(Originally by Sarah Bareilles) **and It Ends Tonight **(Originally by All-American Rejects)**. By the time I was done, it was five thirty in the morning.

I got ready and went downstairs to the kitchen. I couldn't sleep the last two hours so I thought I should get something to drink. I was in the kitchen and getting a water bottle out of the fridge when I thought of something. What if Fang didn't like Robby because he was jealous? What if Fang like, _liked _me? No that… that couldn't be it.

I sat down at the table and drank my water, thinking. I looked around the room, sort of noticing features I've never seen before. I saw a door I've never walked into. And guess what? I got curious.

I walked over and opened the door. It was dark so I turned the light on. There were stairs leading down into the basement. I walked down and looked around the room. Mostly, there were boxes of decorations or old toys. But they were shoved in a far corner. In another corner was a piano. Why haven't I known about this room and the piano before? I looked back at the door atop the stairs. It was open so I quickly used my talent to close it. The basement had many furniture items in it. A couch, TV- it looked like my mom had a den down here.

I figured that no one would here me play so I walked over to the piano and sat down on the bench. This room was used- I could tell because there wasn't much dust. I ran my fingers down they keys; they were all in tune. I started to play River Flows in You by Yiruma and I wound up closing my eyes and flowing with the music. The song always soothed me; it was slow and gentle- like, a small stream running over your feet in the springtime. I guess I know why they called it that.

**Fang POV:**

I woke up early to the sound of something familiar and yet, not. I sat up in my bed and looked at the clock with tired eyes. It was five- fifty in the morning. I groaned as I got out of bed. Fighting with Max really knocks it out of you.

Max. I felt horrible about fighting with her. I thought that I should go apologize to her. But wait… why should _I _apologize? I was telling the truth, she just wouldn't believe me.

I couldn't go back to sleep so I got dressed and decided to actually say sorry- that'll be hard. I went down the hall to Max's room and opened the door.

"Hey, Max?" I whispered.

She wasn't in there. I was about to leave when I saw papers on her desk. And being to good little bird boy that I am, I left them alone… ha! Yeah, right. I walked over and looked them over; they were songs about fighting and at the top, they were dated today. They also had the words 'inspired by' at the top. And my name was next to them. I put the papers back and walked into the kitchen.

I heard something from the basement and looked in the direction of the door- it was slightly open. I walked over and went down the stairs; someone was playing the piano. I got to the bottom and saw who it was; Max.

The piano was facing the other way, toward the wall and Max hadn't heard me enter. I walked over to her and stopped and stood by the piano in her line of sight. She still hadn't seen me; she had her eyes closed. I was about to scare her to notice me but then I saw that she was crying while she was playing. She was even moving with the music, swaying, rocking… all that jazz.

I slowly and silently walked over to the couch and sat down on the arm, listening to her play. I had heard that song before; it's hard to keep the tempo- it goes from fast to slow to high noted and then to low. It takes skill to play that. I sat there for a while, listening to her play and waiting for her to find out that I was indeed watching her play. She played many songs, one after another, without stopping. She just drifted from song to song.

Around 6:30 in the morning, she was singing as well. And everyone heard her. They stirred and got up.

_Angel, tell everyone to be quiet and come to the basement._ I informed Angel.

_Mmhmm. _She thought back groggily.

About three minutes later, we were all crowded in the basement, listening to Max play. She sounded so sad and emotional.

She played one of her hit songs, 'Forgiven.'**(Originally by Within Temptation)** It sounded so nice without a crowd nearly deafening you when you try to hear it clearly.

_Fang. _Angel sounded like she was crying. _She's so sad. All I can get from her are emotions when she plays and she's upset. I don't know what about, though._

I looked over at Angel. I gave her one of my rare small smiles. I thought to her that it was okay. After three more songs, Max finally stopped playing. She took a deep breath and it looked like she was dabbing her eyes. While she was doing that, we all went upstairs quietly and quickly. Iggy started on breakfast and we all gathered around the table.

**Max POV:**

I always cry when I play those songs; I'm so weak! I got up from the piano after playing for about an hour and a half. I dabbed my eyes and walked over to the stairs. The door was completely open.

Everyone heard me. Oh crap! I didn't want them to hear! This basement was supposed to be soundproof and it's only that when the door's closed! Ugh!

I ran up the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Everyone was sitting at the table already, talking animatedly. They stopped when I walked in and they looked at me. I sat down and looked at my hands.

Ella, Mom, Nudge, Angel, and Total looked happy and sympathetic. Iggy had his face turned away but I could tell he felt like I needed to be comforted. Fang was looking at me with an apologetic expression. I couldn't take the silence or staring any longer.

"What?!" I yelled, irritated.

They all jumped because I startled them. No one said anything for a while. I sighed and got up.

"I'm," I began. "goin' for a walk. I'll meet you all at school." I walked out the front door and made my way to school. I walked around for a bit on campus and then made my way to my band's practice room. I opened the door and saw that Toby was already there with Black-Hole. And they were…**.**

**Mhua-ha-ha! I left you with **_**another **_**cliffie! Ha-ha! You're going to have to guess at what they were doing! And, don't worry; it's nothing **_**that **_**bad or **_**that **_**gross! I already know what they're going to do… you just have to wait to see.**

**~~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~~**


	6. Chapt 6: Pranks and Feelings

**Hi! Sorry, I've been really busy! I've been trying so very, very hard to update but my family kept dragging me to downtown Naperville and downtown Chicago all week long. I saw your reviews and I'm glad you all are anxious about the cliffie… Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own M.R. - JP does.**

**Chapter 6:**

Recap:

"_I'm," I began. "Goin' for a walk. I'll meet you all at school." I walked out the front door and made my way to school. I walked around for a bit on campus and then made my way to my band's practice room. I opened the door and saw that Toby was already there with Black-Hole. And they were…__**.**_

_**…**_Covered in blood! I couldn't believe this! I thought our enemies were gone and all those threats from before were empty! How could they know where we are and who we hang out with?!

"Oh my God!" I yelled.

They were sitting on the couch, dabbing each others' faces with paper towels. They stopped when they heard me.

"Max!" Black-Hole jumped up and looked at me, stunned. "It's… it's not what you think!"

Toby stood up and explained. "Someone pranked us. They got in, put a giant bucket of red paint above the door, and we walked in and became red messes."

I put a hand to my heart. I sat down in one of the chairs. "You do know that I would jump to that kind of conclusion, don't you? I mean, with my history of red?"

They both nodded and sat back down. They began dabbing again.

"Wait, why would someone prank you?" I was a little confused.

They shrugged.

"We better get to class. We're going to be late." I stood up after they finished cleaning themselves and we walked out, locking the door behind us.

I walked over to my locker and opened it, to get my things out. As soon as I opened the locker door, I saw a single red rose sitting in there. Okay, I may not be a girly- girl but I do like flowers. I smiled, picked it up, and took a whiff of the wonderful smell. I read the note:

_Hey, Max,_

_I hope you had fun on our date- I know I did. Your family seems so cool- and your friends. Want to go out this Saturday?_

_From,_

_Robby_

It was so sweet. I sniffed the rose one more time and gently put it back in my locker. I closed the door, and guess who was leaning against the lockers next to me? If you guessed Robby, you're wrong. If you guessed Fang- correct! You win… nothing. He looked at me with his stupid emotionless mask on. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I heard Toby and Jane were pranked today. What happened?" he asked, casually.

I shrugged. "I walked into the band room and they were covered in red goop." He looked at me, shocked. "It was paint. Don't worry- I thought the same thing. They said someone put a bucket above the door and they walked in and- _SPLOOSH! _Paint all over them." Thank God he didn't ask about this morning at home.

He nodded. "Max," He looked away for a second. Then back at me as he continued. "What was up with you this morning?" Damn it! "I mean, I saw you as you performed on stage- you never cried when you did those songs. And Angel said that you were so overcome with grief, _she_ started to cry."

I said nothing.

"Max," he was trying to get me to look at him since I looked away. Truth is I don't even know why I was crying. I just started playing and… it just happened. I looked at him. "You know you can tell me anything, don't you?" I shrugged and he sighed. "So what was it about me that inspired you to write songs about me?" He smiled, trying to lighten up the mood.

I didn't have a chance to respond because Robby came up and put his arm around my waist. He smiled at me and I smiled back. "Hey, Max,"

"Hi," I responded quite stupidly.

Fang just stood there while I looked at Robby and he gazed back.

I broke out of my trance as Fang quietly cleared his throat. "Oh!" I finally looked away from Robby to Fang. "Um, Robby, this Nick. Nick, this is Robby."

They shook hands and Robby turned back to me. "So, you get the flower?"

I slightly nodded. "I did. Thanks."

"Well?" I felt so bad for Fang- he had no idea what we were talking about. He stood there with his jaw clenched.

"Sure," I smiled. The bell rang and we all headed off to class.

School was almost over. It was the last period of the day and I had gym. I was just changing out of my gym uniform when some girl called me. I looked over.

"Yes?" I asked, politely.

"That tattoo," She nodded to my heart with wings catastrophe. "How did you get her to give you one?"

"Who?" I was confused.

"Maurice. She's one of the photographers in the city. She used to do _amazing _tattoos. But she stopped. I don't recall you having that before. How'd you get her to do it?" She wasn't nosy, I realized, just curious.

"Uh," I was at a loss for words. "I didn't ask her to. I didn't know I had it 'till my sister pointed it out. I was at a photo shoot and I fell asleep on the couch. She was there. She woke me up and she looked proud and guilty. Why?"

"You mean she didn't ask?! She just did it without your permission?!" she was shocked and outraged.

I nodded. "I'm pretty steamed actually. And… How'd you know she did it?"

"She does a little signature mark- and you have it. It's illegal to do that, you know. She's defiling your body without your okay. She can go to jail. If you never wanted that thing, you should tell the authorities right away. She had no right to do that." She looked at me with concern in her eyes.

I put my jeans and T-shirt on and then hugged her. "Thank you… you have no idea how long I've been looking for an answer to how this appeared on me." I whispered.

She smiled as I pulled back. "I'm Becca- By the way. I'm in Robby's group of friends." She shook my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet his girlfriend."

I nodded my hello and we left to leave school. I ran to my family. When I found them, I saw that Angel was covered in blue powder as well as Gazzy.

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow. "Gazzy, Iggy, did you guys set off a powder bomb?" **Is there such thing?**

Then I saw that Angel had a tear streaked face. She shook her head. "No, Gazzy and I were walking here and we heard a yell from a janitor's closet,"

"Then we opened the door to see what was up and a blue power thingy was launched at us." Gazzy finished her sentence.

I looked at them all. They were all here. I sighed. "Okay, let's go home. As soon as we're home, you two are taking showers."

They nodded and were really eager to get that gunk off.

_Max? This stuff itches…_Angel sent to me.

I looked over at her and Gazzy and they were scratching themselves like crazy.

"Stop," I told them. We all stopped walking and I bent down to their levels and sniffed the air around them. I straightened them up again. "Blue itching powder."

Angel and Gazzy were wide eyed now and they really wanted to scratch their itchy spots. Angel practically whimpered. I nodded and they scratched their backs happily.

"No one touches them, understood?" I demanded.

"Why?" Nudge asked.

"When someone is infected with itching powder, they scratch like crazy. Unfortunately, it won't go away with a shower. It stays. You can touch them after they shower because the powder will be off so it can't transfer to your skin." I responded as we started walking again.

Iggy and Fang looked at me funny. "Since when do you know this stuff?" Iggy asked warily.

I shrugged. "I had to confiscate it at a concert once and it spilled on some people so I read the directions to know what to do."

After that, we were practically home and Angel and Gazzy ran to the house. I opened the door with my telekinesis so they wouldn't touch it.

When we were all in our rooms, Fang came into mine.

"Gaz and Angel are really happy they know what that stuff is." he said.

"Hmmm," I wasn't really paying attention. "Fang, I know how I got the tattoo." I looked at him and he sat in my desk chair- I was on my bed. He raised an eyebrow saying 'go on.' "Maurice gave it to me while I was asleep. She's a photographer and the costume designer for S.O.T.W. She can go to jail but I don't know if I should tell,"

"Well, that girl is messed up. I kind of think you should. No right- it was wrong." He shrugged. "Notice that it's your family and friends being pranked and not anyone else?"

He gets right to things, don't he? I don't even know where he's going… "As a matter of fact… yes. But why, though?"

He shrugged as if the answer should be obvious. There was silence. Finally he sighed and stood up. "I told this before- if you'd have listened to me, no one would've gotten humiliated." He left before I could say anything.

I knew what he meant. He was saying Robby did it. No, I don't believe that; Robby is a good kid.

"Liar…," I muttered.

It was around four weeks after Angel, Gazzy, Jane, and Toby were humiliated. So far, Iggy was humiliated by someone moving his chair out of the way as he sat down; no one knew who, though. And Fang was humiliated two days ago by having two gay boys go around school saying that Fang was their 'bee-yatch.' Ella was stood up on her first date and it was spread around. All my friends were humiliated too; just by smoke bombs and rude things said about them.

The past three weeks, I stopped talking to my family. They were all acting coo-coo and Fang kept picking fights with me for no reason. So I started hanging out with Robby's group. I didn't really like Robby the way he liked me; I liked him as a friend, nothing more. But I didn't know how to tell him so we're still, kinda, going out. His groups of friends are weird. And when ever I shift my weight or something, so does Robby. He always has his arm around my waist or he's holding my hand.

It was lunch time and all the grades in all the schools- elementary, middle, and high- got to each at the same time with each other; because of families and such. I was standing with Robby's friends and they were talking about something big that was going to happen soon. They wouldn't tell me what. My family may not know it, but I've always- and will always- look after them. The whole time we were all fighting, I've been keeping an eye on them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nudge stand up from the table she was sitting at with Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Ella, and Fang and walk over top her locker down the hall; it was in view of everyone. She did her combo and I realized I wasn't the only one watching. Robby's group was staring as well- eagerly too. Then as Nudge opened her locker door, green goop and powder splurged out at her covering her from head to toe. She looked horrified and upset. Robby and his friends were laughing like there was no tomorrow and everyone in the cafeteria soon followed suit; except my family. Nudge ran out the door to the outside.

"Nudge…," I murmured. I went to run over to her but Robby tightened his grip on my waist. I glared at him and pried his fingers off, easily. I ran to her as fast as I could.

I pushed the door open and found her sitting by it, crying. She got that goop off but there was still some stuck on her clothes and in her hair- but not much. I sat next to her and she looked at me like I would scold her for being weak.

Instead, I pulled her into a hug. She froze for a second because we haven't talked in a month. Then she hugged back, tightly. I pulled back but still held her. I pushed some of her hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. "Nudge, who did this to you?" I asked softly but severely.

She shook her head. "You won't believe me. You didn't believe anyone else- so why would you believe me?" She's been speaking less and less lately- and Fang more and more.

"Who?" I demanded.

"Robby," She whispered.

I stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Wipe away your tears. After I'm done with him, you'll _laugh _so hard you'll cry." I smiled at her.

She smiled back and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Why do you believe me and not Fang?"

I sighed. "I sort of did. And… I've been meaning to break up with Robert but I just- I just don't know how to do it nicely. But now I won't be nice." I got curious for a second. "Why did he attack all of you with pranks if he knew you were my family?"

"He thought that if your family said that he was bad and mean then you'd think they were lying and you'd hang out with him more than us. You gotta admit that plan sort of worked. Hey, what's a 'bee-yatch'?"

"It's a weird way to say 'bitch.'" **Yeah, Max just comes right out with it, doesn't she? LOL. **

I opened the door and we walked inside. I told Nudge to wait in the hall and when everyone's attention was on me, to make her way to the table. I made my way to the middle of the cafeteria and yelled over the noise. "Robert!"

Everyone was immediately silent. They turned to look at me and Robert looked at me; beckoning me over with his eyes. I held up my hand and told him to come over with my index finger. He did as I asked.

"Yes, darling?" he asked.

"Don't you 'yes, darling' me! How dare you do that to Nick! And Jeff! And Zack! And Ella, and Krystal and Ariel! And all my friends?!" I was really screaming now. I noticed that Nudge told my family to look over and watch the show.

"W- What are you talking about, Max?" he acted so innocent.

"Don't you stutter! You know what you did! You pranked them all with the ridicule and all that! How dare you?! They're my family- they're people; good people at that! You don't treat people like that! What in the world were you thinking?" I didn't give him a chance to answer. "Nothing- that's what! You weren't thinking! Bullying someone's family and friends is no way to win a girl over! It does not impress them. And if my family wanted… they would've kicked your ass right there! But they didn't want to because you were my boyfriend…,"

"Were? What do you mean 'were?'" He sounded stunned.

"In case you didn't understand what just happened… I just dumped you in front of the entire district. There's no way that I'm going to date you any more! And for all the other girls around me now," I looked around at everyone. "If you date this jackass, he'll ruin your family's lives and self-esteem." I looked back at him. "You have no right to be seeing anyone; ever. If you try to _win me back, _just know," I was starting to calm down. "It'll never work." I started to walk toward my family and I told them to stand up so we could leave.

"Yeah, well… I didn't want to date a whore but I felt sorry for you." He tried to counter.

I saw my family's reaction as I slowly turned to face Robert. They were probably mentally saying, 'he shouldn't have said that.' My eyebrows were up and people were oohing and all that like on a TV show when someone disses someone else. I walked over to him and held my fist up.

I smiled. "You really shouldn't have said that." I punched him right in the nose. Not enough to completely shatter it like I wanted but enough to hear the snap and break it. I walked away with my family on my heels. I walked straight to the principle's office. I stopped outside the door and I faced my Flock.

"Wait here," I said. "Angel, you're coming with me." She looked confused and then saw what I was going to do. She smiled.

Then the principle came out of the office because he got a call about me punching Robert. He held up his finger and motioned me inside his office. I hauled Angel in behind me.

"Now, Miss Ride… Why did you punch Robert?" he asked as we sat down in the chairs in front of his desk.

"He pulled all those pranks on my family and friends. And he called me whore in front of everyone." I stated. _Angel, you're up._

She did a little nod and then addressed the principle. "Sir, Max didn't do anything wrong. She stood up for everyone Robert has ever and ever will bully. He is at fault here, not Max." she said it so calmly and she looked into the principle's eyes.

He agreed and Angel even got him to excuse us from school for the rest of the day. We all headed home early and we decided to fly. Iggy held Ella and we all flew around to be free. I was way up front and flying by myself.

_Max, come fly by us? _Angel asked ever so sweetly.

_No, Angel. I'm sorry. Just- can I be alone for a minute, please?_

_Mmhmm. _She left my head and told everyone to leave me alone.

We got home and Iggy and Ella explained everything to Mom as Nudge took a shower and I went to my room. I sat on my bed and didn't do anything except breathe and blink and, well, live. I just couldn't believe what Robert did. I thought he was a good person. He seemed so nice to me and his friends were nice as well. I just… couldn't believe someone would do that to my family- at least someone I trusted. I also couldn't believe that I started to cry. Not like wailing or anything but silent tears ran down my cheeks. I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my arms on them. Then I buried my face and let the tears fall. The only thing I understood at the moment was that I was a teenage girl who was called a whore in front of the schools and that my family was humiliated time after time by my boyfriend- I guess that meant could cry, right?

I vaguely heard Angel tell everyone I was crying and why I was. Then about ten seconds after that, my door opened and someone sat next to me on my bed. I didn't look up, I already knew who it was; Fang. I leaned to the side and he put an arm around me and held me to him. Around four minutes of silent sitting and crying, I finally looked up at him.

"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you," I rasped out. I cleared my throat.

"Max, it's okay. I can see why you wouldn't believe us. He was your first boyfriend. The first boy you liked. It's only natural to stand up for others; especially for you." He gave me a gentle squeeze on the shoulder.

I gave a hint smile and sort of cuddled back into him. He rested his head on mine and we just sat there in a comfortable silence. He was wrong- way wrong. "You're wrong…," I mumbled.

"About what?" He looked at me.

I looked him straight in the eyes. "Robert wasn't the first guy I liked. I liked someone way before I met him."

"Oh, yeah. That's right- you dated Sam from Virginia." he recalled.

He just didn't get it. "No, I-" I didn't get to finish my sentence.

_Maximum!_Well, that was new…kind of. It was the voice; I hadn't heard from it in, like, a year. _You need to get everyone ready, fast! Some leftover Flyboys are coming to try to finish you off. They'll be there in five minutes!_ How would the voice (a.k.a. Jeb) know this? He's in jail.

"Max? Are you okay?" Fang asked a little worried.

I gulped and focused on his face. "No, I'm not. Some leftover flyboys are coming." I got out of his grasp and ran to open my door. I opened it and yelled to my Flock: "Flyboys arrive in 5! Get ready!" I soon heard windows open and my Flock flew out their windows. I ran to my window that Fang opened for me and leaped out. He jumped after me. We all spread our wings and took off into the sky.

"Well, that was bad timing," Fang grumbled. Many of the Flock agreed; eavesdroppers.

_Hey, voice, do you know how many flyboys are coming? So we're prepared… _I didn't really expect a response.

_About 150…_It sounded sheepish.

"What!?" I yelled out loud.

Every one of my Flock turned their heads toward me.

"About 150 are coming," I looked them all in the eyes.

Just then, we heard the all too familiar noise of the flyboys arriving. Three were as many as Jeb had informed. We all got ready to fight and around 5 attacked me at once; I couldn't see how the rest of the Flock was doing but I could tell they were doing a good job.

_Maximum, pull your wings in._

_WHAT?!_

_Now!_

I did as I was told and yanked my wings in. I free fell about 7 feet and I looked up to see that two flyboys had leaped at where I had once been, with knives in their hands. I laughed and I saw Fang look at me confused. I waved it off and flew back up- away form the group. I used my telekinesis and made the knives fly to me and land gracefully in my hands. I threw them at the flyboys and they all went down.

I looked over at Nudge and she was stripping them apart piece of metal by piece of metal by piece of metal. Angel was commanding them to fall and crash. Iggy and Gazzy were using bombs filled with 'Gazzy fumes' and the flyboys fell out of the sky like rocks; it was times like this where Iggy could see. Fang was doing a great job. A flyboy jumped on my back and made it hard to flap. I saw a pond and I got an idea. I slowly but surely made my way over to it and pulled my wings in. I've been swimming in this pond before and I knew it was deep. I splashed into the water with the flyboys on my back.

Apparently, it saw this coming so it pulled some wires loose on itself, and the wires were free in the water. As you all know, electricity and water _don't _mix… so I was electrocuted underwater. Even if you're a bird-kid who was tortured in many ways, you still scream when you've been electrocuted. So, I screamed underwater, my lungs filled with the pond water, and I started to drift. I heard a muffled yell and a splash. Arms grabbed me and I know this because I was awake but also unconscious. It's the kind of unconscious where you know what's going on but you can't move. Anyway, arms grabbed me and pulled me out of the water. I was set on the ground and someone put their head on my chest; listening for my heart. Then, they were blowing air into my lungs and pounding my chest to get my blood flowing. Basic CPR. They did this fourteen times when someone said something.

"Fang," it was Nudge. And she was crying. "I don't… I don't think she-"

"Shut up, Nudge!" Fang yelled at her right before air was pushed into my lungs again. He was outraged and upset, I could tell.

More pounding. Something was coming up my throat and I spit it out. There was a lot. I gasped and opened my eyes.

Everything was fuzzy but it soon came into focus. Iggy was hugging Angel who was crying. Iggy was close to tears. Gazzy was sitting by Nudge and they were crying as well. Fang was right by me because he was the one who was doing the CPR.

I was still panting and gasping for air when I realized they were all looking at me to say something. So I did. "Thank God we took health class." my voice was weak but they all chuckled, relieved.

Fang helped me sit up and he kept me up by sitting behind me and supporting me. So I was practically in his lap. Everyone ran over and hugged me, one by one. They were all crying- even Fang.

After a while of just sitting there I finally asked an important question. "How long was I… out?"

No one answered at first.

"About an hour…," Fang whispered.

I re-hugged everyone; I hugged Fang a little longer than everyone else.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"S'not your fault, Max. The flyboy just disconnected at the last second- there was nothing you could do." Iggy patted my knee.

I just realized that I was a little wet and I was tired from basically dying. I asked if we could go home and they all stood up. Fang picked me up bridal- style and carried me home; I was too exhausted to argue. I leaned my head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Thank you…,"

I saw him smile a small smile and he told everyone to walk faster. His arms must be killing him.

_No. He actually likes carrying you, Max. He just thinks you'd like to relax on a bed and not in his arms. _Angel answered. I saw her on my right and gave her a smile she quickly returned.

The Flock flew into their open windows to get to their rooms and Fang opened his wings and carried me threw mine, carefully. He was really good at it too. He pulled his wings in and set me on the bed. Then he walked over to the window and closed it.

There had to be someway to say how thankful I am for him saving me. I had just thought of something when he sat down. I know that in CPR, you had to do mouth to mouth resuscitation. He did that many times; gave me mouth to mouth. So, I'd return the favor.

"Max, you need to sleep. Get some rest- you basically died." He smoothed my hair away from my face as I looked at him.

"I really didn't mean to scare you guys. I must have scared you pretty badly if you started to cry."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You saw that, huh?" He seemed a little bit embarrassed.

I nodded. "Yeah… I'm really, really, really, really-" He cut me off my covering my mouth with his hand.

"Shush and sleep. You're turning into Nudge." He smirked. He uncovered my mouth and walked to the door.

"Fang?" My voice quivered a bit. He stopped and turned halfway to look at me. "Wait," I stood up and walked over to him.

"Max, you shouldn't be walking," he warned gently. Then we heard Angel giggle. He turned his head in the direction of the door toward the sound of the giggle.

_Hurry! Get as close as you can!_ Angel squealed in my head. She knew my plan.

I was 7 steps away from him and I moved six steps closer. He turned his head back toward me and he stopped breathing because he saw how close we were to each other. He saw how close we were, but I didn't need to see to know.

"What are you doing, Max?" he asked suspiciously, barely above a whisper.

I looked into his eyes and almost forgot to answer; you could just get lost in those! Then, to add a little affect, I glanced at his lips and then back to his eyes. "Returning the favor…," I murmured. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. They were so soft and gentle. He froze for a second and then went with it. He started to kiss me back.

Our mouths were moving in sync and his lips were being so gentle but aggressive at the same time- I don't know how that's possible but if you kissed Fang, you'd know. He tilted his head to the side a bit and we kissed a bit more. I know, I know, he's my best friend. But… I really felt grateful and- I've kind of wanted to do this for a while. It felt so right.

I pulled away but I stayed right by his face. I just looked at him and he looked at me. And then- weird as this may seem- he smiled at me. Not a smirk, not a half-smile, but a real smile. It made my whole world brighter and I just couldn't help but smile back. He leaned forward and gave me a small peck on the mouth before pulling away again.

"You should get some sleep. Had a long day." he muttered.

I nodded, still smiling, and made my way to the bed. I sat down. "By the way," I said. "One of the songs that you inspired, you inspired me in a good way." I pulled out _Fighter _and handed it to him. "See if you can guess how,"

He sat next to me and read the song. Then he looked at me. "By fighting with me, you got your leaderly attitude? Like, you're able to fight and be a good person at the same time?" he was slightly confused.

I nodded. "You helped me make a bad quality into a great one that helps many people." I did a small smile at him.

He smiled back- again, a full smile- and put the song back on my desk. He stood up and I lay down. He bent down and kissed me on the forehead. He left.

Despite my family being humiliated today and me almost dying, I had a pretty good day. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

**How you like them apples? Review please. Like I said above, I've been meaning to write but I've been busy. I'll probably post once or, rarely, twice a week now.**

**~~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~~**


	7. Chapt 7: Not that! anything but that!

**Hey, me again! I posted a new poll- about Fang! Please use it! Anyone can vote!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own M.R. - JP does…**

**Chapter 7:**

I woke up and I looked in the mirror: apparently, the smile I wore last night never was wiped off of my face. Today was Saturday so there was no school, but I did have a recording. Ugh!

I got dressed in a black tank top that had a grey rose on it with rhinestones in some spots on it. My jeans were black, skinny jeans that had little holes and rips from the knee- down. I also wore my black flip-flops. I put on my rings that were silver with black designs on them. My necklace was a chain and my hair was unnaturally wavy.

I ran down the stairs and went to the kitchen. My family was already there: Iggy and Gazzy were talking about bombs, Nudge, Angel, and Ella were talking about shopping and fashion, and Fang was talking to my mom about an assignment he didn't understand. Total was asleep under the table. I went over to the fridge and grabbed the milk and then poured me a glass.

"Good morning, Max." my mom greeted me. I smiled in return and put my cup in the sink after downing the milk.

"I have to go to the recording studio after this and record the songs I wrote so far. 'Kay?" I asked… more like demanded.

She nodded and then left the room. Nudge, Ella, and Angel stopped talking and looked at me with little evil grins that Iggy normally wore. I was confused for a second and then it dawned on me.

"No!" I ran to my room and locked the door. "There is _no way _I'm letting you three shop for me!" I yelled through the door to them as they pounded, trying to get in.

The pounding stopped and I heard my door handle jingling like…like… like Iggy was picking my lock. I ran to my window and opened it. I walked out onto the roof and closed the window. I unfurled my wings and shot into the sky. I was really high and having trouble breathing since the air was thin. I saw them open my window and look around for me: lucky for me, a cloud was right below me.

"Maaaaaax!" I heard Nudge whine. "Come on! Just come with us!" I just realized that she was extremely loud if I could hear her all the way up here.

I sighed and an idea came to me. I pulled my wings in and started to free fall. I prayed Fang wouldn't grab me. I angled myself so my whole family could see me land in front of the house. I was really high so I would leave a _gigantic _crater. I was nose-diving all the way down and when I was ten feet away from the ground and flipped so my feet would plow into the earth. My hypothesis was correct: the crater was huge. I heard Nudge, Ella, and Angel gasp, Mom and Fang chuckle- they've seen this many times-, and Gazzy and Iggy just stared wide-eyed. Iggy was allowed to see what was going to happen and he saw me create the giant ditch in the earth.

Ella, Nudge, and Angel ran over to me and stared at me in awe. Then they pounced on me.

"You are _so _going shopping!" Nudge whined.

"You need new clothes!" Ella reminded me.

"Please?" Angel asked.

They all gave me the bambi eyes. I looked at them all.

"Nudge, Ella," I looked at them both. "You're too old for bambi eyes and, therefore, your power with it has weakened. Angel," I turned to her. I smiled. "Nice try…," I laughed and walked past them to the house. I went up the steps and my mom stepped in front of me.

"Max," she sighed. She gave me an apologetic look- like Boom gave me a month ago. "We're _all _going clothes shopping."

I tried to play dumb and hoped it would work. "Well, then have fun! I can't wait to see what you all buy! Later," I walked past her. It worked: almost. She grabbed the collar of my sweatshirt I had put on over my tank before I flew and she dragged me to the car- literally. I crossed my arms and sighed. I absolutely _hate _shopping. "Okay, okay! I'll walk myself before you make me fall!" I put my feet down and we came to a halt.

She hesitantly let go of my sweatshirt as to make sure I didn't run. And I didn't- until her hand was at her side. I ran to the house and right when I got to the doorframe, Fang and Iggy grabbed me by the upper arms. I dugs my fingers into the frame of the door, making sure I stayed put. They were pulling with all their might and I was holding with all of mine.

"No! Let go! I have enough clothes!" I turned my head toward Fang. "Please don't torture me like this!"

He smirked, holding in his laughter. He let me go with one hand and held his fingers out in a claw shape, showing them to me. My eyes widened. He wouldn't… He did. He tickled my side and I, to my dismay, let go of the frame. He immediately grabbed my arms with both of his hands again and they carried me to the car. Nudge, Angel, and Ella were sitting in the last row of seats in the back. Up front next to my mom was no one. Fang opened the door and I saw that Gazzy was on the side by the window, Fang got in and he sat in the middle. Iggy pushed me in so I sat at the other window and as soon as the door shut, my mom locked it. Iggy ran around the car and sat by my mom. We drove off.

Ella, Nudge, and Angel started talking about what they wanted to get and Gazzy was leaning toward Iggy and talking to him. My mom was on her Bluetooth. Fang and I sat next to each other, silent.

"I can't believe you did that to me," I broke the silence between us.

He shrugged and smirked. "Angel said that you were ticklish and I wanted to see if you were."

"I meant dragging me to the mall." I clarified.

He chuckled. "It's fun seeing your reaction."

We arrived at the mall and Iggy came to my door, ready to catch me in case I ran. We all got out and walked to the front doors of the giant nightmare.

"Alright, Angel, you'll come with me. Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy will be together and Max, Ella, and Nudge will be another group. Ella, you're in charge." My mother stated.

"What?" I almost shrieked. "No way! Uh-uh! I am not going to be under the power of my shop-crazy baby sister."

"Ella," Mom realized what might happen. "Max can veto your clothes you pick for you, Nudge, and her. Max, try to be reasonable." She grabbed Angel's hand and led her one way after handing Ella and Fang money.

"Yeah, Max. Be reasonable," Fang mimicked walking past. I went to chase him but he ran away too fast. So this is how he acts after I kiss him? He's acting like Gazzy! I'm not going to kiss him ever again… I don't think I will.

Ella grabbed my hand and led me to a store. Nudge followed along right by my other side. We walked in and they looked through the racks of clothes. Nudge ran back to me after ten minutes and handed me a bunch of leathery clothes. I put them on the counter next to me.

"No," I stated.

She frowned. "But you wore stuff like that on stage."

"Yeah, but I was forced. And I'm not Max when I perform: I'm Lapis Lazuli."

Ella came over with a humungous pile in her hands. And they weren't thrown around and messy, they were folded and squished together- so there was a lot in her hands. She gave me a small smile. "Please, Max?"

I sighed and grabbed the pile. I walked over to the changing rooms and grabbed the biggest one they had. When I closed the door, Ella threw in a bunch of different types of shoes.

"Mix and match, sista!" she yelled to me.

Ella, being the organized sister she is, put all of the clothes in little groups. Like jeans, T-shirt, and a jacket. All together.

I tried on the first outfit; it was a light blue tank top with spaghetti straps and pants with rips and tears at the hems. I put on the brown wedges with it too. I actually didn't mind this outfit. I stepped out and showed them. Nudge had her mouth open and Ella nodded approvingly.

I went back inside the dressing room and put that outfit in the keep pile that I was making. After 20 outfits, I had, surprisingly, 15 outfits I was keeping and 5 I wasn't. I had one more outfit that Nudge was going to had me from the other side of the door. She handed it to me carefully and it was in a clothing bag- you know, the kind to keep the wrinkles out and to keep it clean- and after I grabbed it, she tossed me the shoes. I unzipped the bag and I saw a dress.

"Nuh- uh! Nudge, there is no way that I'm going to wear a dress!" I called out to her.

"Max, it's for the party next week. Everyone has to dress nicely." she responded.

I sighed and took the dress out. It was a blood red dress and it didn't have any sleeves. It was held up by the neckline and it was slightly see-through on my chest where jewelry would normally hang. (**I'll have a picture…)** And it was floor length. It had sparkles in some areas and was two layers. I liked it- no, I loved it! I'm not a dress kind of gal but this suited my likings. I tried it on and it fit perfectly. And, I looked good too. The shoes were high heels that had ribbons going all the way up my leg and ending at the top of my shin. They were black. (**Another picture…)** I could actually walk and balance on these things. They had tiny rhinestones on the sides of the toe area.

I walked out of the room and showed Ella and Nudge. Only it wasn't just them: Mom and Angel now accompanied them. All their jaws dropped.

"Max, honey, I know you don't like dresses but-" My mom was about to finish but I cut her off.

"Don't worry- I will get it. I like it." I smiled at them all.

"Hey, Max," Angel was looking me in the eye and she had a small evil grin on her face. "Fang thinks that you'll be a little tortured by how 'hot'" she put air quotes around hot. "He looks in his dress clothes. I think he'll be tortured- don't you agree?" she was implying that I wear it in front of him.

I nodded and went to change back into my clothes that I came in. I came out with the dress in the bag and my clothes in a pile in my hands. Mom paid for my clothes and we headed off to get us some make-up. Fun! (Note sarcasm) We got to the make-up section of the store and a lady helped pick some out for everyone except me. She said that I didn't need make-up. Although, she did give me accessories for my hair and a book on how to make really cute hairstyles the right way. We paid and met up with the boys at the car. All of our stuff went into the trunk of the car and my dress was hanging on the hook on the handle by my door. I was sitting in my seat and eating a stuffed pretzel when Fang and Gazzy slid into their seats after putting their stuff in back. Iggy was already sitting up front.

Fang eyed the bag and gave me a confused look.

"For the party next week." I explained after downing the last of my snack.

"Oh," he looked like he understood. I barely heard Angel muffle a giggle. "Is it your mom's outfit?" The bag was bigger than the dress.

I shook my head. "Nope," I popped the p. "Mine…,"

He raised an eyebrow with disbelief.

Gazzy and Iggy started to laugh. Angel must've filled them in on what we were going to do.

"He's gonna get it _bad._" Gazzy whispered to Iggy.

"Or she's going to humiliate herself with her bad taste." Iggy whispered back. Fang didn't hear.

"Mind you I actually have good taste!" I yelled at him and smacked the backside of Iggy's head.

He just laughed some more. Then he stopped and he looked like he was concentrating on something far away.

_I'm sending him a picture of what you looked like in that dress, Max. _Angel said to me telepathically.

Iggy's jaw dropped and he let out a low whistle. "I take back my earlier comment." He stated with a strained voice.

"What?" Fang asked, eagerly. No one answered. "What are you talking about?"

"Max's dress…," Gazzy murmured. He saw it too. Gazzy did a goofy smile and whispered so only Iggy and I could hear, "He's gonna get it…," in a sing-song voice too.

We drove home with Fang having a frustrated look on his face. Ten minutes away from the house he finally spoke. "Who got the most clothes? There was a lot… Of course, I know Max didn't get the most."

All the girls were laughing.

"Actually, she did." Ella retorted, still giggling.

We were home and we unloaded the car. I grabbed as many bags as I could and my dress and I used my telekinesis to make the rest of my bags of clothes up to my room. I put everything away and hung my dress up in my closet. I sat on my bed, exhausted.

Fang came in. "Hey,"

"Hiya…,"

"Can I see the dress since everyone else saw? I'll let you see my dress clothes…," He tried to bargain.

I acted like I was thinking and then I smiled. I slowly shook my head. "No…"

He walked over and sat next to me on my bed, very close I might add.

"Then I might have to force you to let me see,"

"You're _really_ curious, aren't you?" I said 'really' really slow.

"I feel left out." He mock-pouted. I tried to hold in a laugh. He looked really cute mock-pouting. He held his hands like claws and then jumped on me and started to tickle me.

I couldn't help the uncontrollable laughing so I just had to let them out. He tickled me for so long, I couldn't breathe and I started crying. I finally used my common sense and swung the door open with my power. I pushed him back with it and started to push him toward the door while I was gasping for air, still slightly giggling from the aftershock of it. I stopped pushing him when he was standing in the door way. I stood up and walked over to him until I was one foot away.

He smirked. "Now will ya tell me?"

I shook my head and attempted to close the door. He stopped it with his foot.

"Why are you so curious? Do you think we're just joking and I chose a hideous dress so we would get your hopes up?" I tilted my head to the side, mocking him.

"Kind of." he admitted.

"Mind you," I said gently. "I have good taste." Then I closed the door.

The party is going to be chaotic. The party was for the kids in school and their families. It was like a banquet and we all had to dress up and act mannerly. Just 6 days away…


	8. Chapt 8: Party, SURPRISE!

**Hey! Hi, sorry! I've been really busy, that's why I haven't updated lately. My English teacher made my class write a short story about a picture she gave us and I've been writing it all week. I'll try to keep posting ASAP. By the way, I have a new poll up. It's for this story… so please do it- it's about Fang!!! Anyway, Disclaimer: I don't own MR- JP does! I can't wait till March 17****th****- his fifth book (Maximum Ride: Max). Anyway, enjoy!**

**Chapter 8:**

It's been six days since we all went shopping. Today was the day of the party. Throughout the week, Fang has been trying to sneak a peek at my dress. I had Angel let me know when he was thinking about sneaking into my room. Just so he wouldn't get into my closet, I locked it. He had asked Iggy about ten times to help pick it but he refused. He wanted to see his reaction just as much as the rest of us. He even begged- he really _begged- _Mom to tell him about it.

The girls were getting ready in Mom's room. We all had our dresses on and we were doing our make-up and hair. Well, they were doing their make-up and hair; I was just doing my hair.

"Max, he really does feel left out. He's the only one who hasn't seen your dress- he's eager." Angel told me as she tried to zip the back of her dress. It was a light blue spaghetti strap dress and she had on flats that matched. There were sparkles all over the dress and she had sparkles on her cheeks with her blush. Her hair was straightened. I walked over and helped her zip it, she smiled at me. Then she squealed. "This is going to be so much fun!" (**I forgot to say, Angel can copy Max's power to hide her wings… it's needed to work in this story… so yea- thought I should tell you.)**

I smiled at her. "Yes, it is." I walked back over to the mirror and finished curling my hair. Some strands from the front were pulled to the back and pinned together. And then strands in front of those strands- one on each side of my face- were lying freely down the side of my face. The rest of my curly hair was going down my back to my waist being held by my pinned hair.

Mom was wearing a lavender dress that had long sleeves but wasn't sitting on her shoulders. It went down to the floor like mine. She wore flats too. She's really uncoordinated. Nudge wore a black dress that had short sleeves and was simple. It went to her knees. She wore short heels that matched her dress. Nudge's hair was in a stylish bun with some hair hanging loosely on her shoulders and my mom's hair was simple straight like Angel's and Ella's. Ella wore a pink dress that had no sleeves and fit perfectly around her curves. It went to her shins and her shoes were pink wedges. There were sparkles all over her dress just like Angel.

The boys had already left and now we were about to go; my mom had to get her keys. She lost them. Once she found them, we piled into the car and made sure not to ruin our dresses. We drove off to the party.

When we got there, it seemed as though the entire town was there. So there were a lot of people. Luckily, the room was big enough to hold everyone and then have leftover room. We couldn't find the boys anywhere.

"Angel, where are they?" I asked her bending down to her level.

She scrunched up her nose in concentration. Then her face smoothed out. "They're over by the stage." Yes, there was a stage; bands and a DJ were going to play tonight.

We spread out into groups; Ella and me, Nudge and Angel, and then my mom went by herself. Ella and I found them first and we strolled casually over to them, looking every which way except at them so they wouldn't see our faces. We were ten feet away and I called out.

"Hey, Nick!"

He looked in our direction and scanned the area, passing us. We didn't show him our faces yet but I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He did look good!

"Look back over to your right." I said, laughing. Ella was suppressing giggles. He scanned again and missed us. "No, look in the other direction- go slower." I was going to make him search for me.

He was about to look when Angel ran over to him and clung to his leg. Nudge ran over smiling and laughing- she saw the whole thing.

Fang bent down and looked at Angel. "Don't you look sparkly?" He half-smiled.

She nodded. Ella ran over and I walked over.

"Hey. Don't you recognize me, Fang?" I asked him smiling.

He looked at me and so did Gazzy and Iggy. All their jaws dropped. Fang stood up and circled me slowly, his mouth still open. He was looking me up and down slowly, seeing if it was really me. I rolled my eyes. He was still circling- possibly looking for an excuse to give me and up/down.

He finally stopped right in front of me and looked at my face.

I smiled. "Tortured yet?"

His eyes drifted to Angel's and he looked slightly angry. She just gave an innocent smile back and skipped away to get a snack. Iggy grabbed Ella's hand and Gazzy walked away. Iggy dragged Ella away whispering, "Give them a minute."

I looked back at Fang as he stared at me with his jaw clenched. "Well?"

He pursed his lips.

_His is being tortured._ Angel's voice broke into my mind. She was giggling.

I laughed and then covered my mouth to stop- it was too late; he heard.

He sighed. "That's the dress you chose? Of your own will?" He seemed skeptical that I would choose this dress myself.

"Nudge handed it to me and I wanted to keep it. I like it. You like it; we're all happy." I smiled smugly at him.

He held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

I grabbed his hand and we made our way to the dance floor. I placed my arms around his neck and his hands went to my waist. We danced to a lot of slow songs in silence.

"You look good too, you know." I finally spoke.

He smirked. "You know you want me."

Just to see his reaction… "Yes, yes I do."

His eyebrows rose and his mouth almost dropped open. I chuckled. His eyes narrowed and he scowled.

"Nice face," I said in between chuckles.

"Ha ha. You know you look extremely girlie right now, don't you? Someone may get the wrong idea." His eyes scanned the room, looking for exits. Just the way he'd been taught all those years ago.

"I'm really surprised; I didn't think Flyboys would exist anymore. And why would they come now? A year after we destroyed Itex?" I spoke my thoughts.

Fang shrugged. "Why should we care? Why don't we live in the moment?" He looked into my eyes and leaned forward ever so slightly.

I smirked and shook my head. "Oh no. You have to _earn _my lips."

He mock-pouted. I laughed and shook my head again.

_He _really _wants to kiss you now, Max. And I know you want to kiss him too- so just kiss him. _Angel thought to me.

_Maximum. _Oh, no. The Voice (aka Jeb) is back. What now. _I've missed you. How've you been?_

_Go away; I'm not talking to a felon. Why do you want to know, anyway? I thought you weren't going to be nosy anymore._

_Maximum, I've missed out on your becoming an adult. Is it my fault that I'd like to know how my daughter is doing?_

_Yes. _I sighed internally. _But I'm doing good, I guess. Now leave me alone- this is a moment between two people and you're neither of them._

_It's coming true… _Jeb murmured almost to himself.

_Wait, what's coming true? _No answer. _Jeb? Jeb! _Again, no answer. I groaned.

"What?" I totally forgot Fang was there.

I shook my head. "Jeb," Fang's eyes widened basically telling me to continue. "He's just babbling- I think jail's getting to him. He's going insane." I left out the part about him saying it's true so Fang wouldn't get suspicious and I wouldn't get embarrassed if it was embarrassing.

The rest of the time of the party, my family and I just hung out and ate some food. My mind kept wandering to what Jeb had said- I needed to know what it meant. After the party, which was around 5-6 hours later, we were at home. Angel and Nudge were tired so they dressed in their pajamas and sat on the couch and watched a movie whose name escapes me. Ella dressed into her normal clothes and joined them and Iggy and Gazzy got in their normal clothes and cooped themselves up in Iggy's room talking about bombs no doubt. Fang disappeared and Mom was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee, still wearing her fancy dress.

I decided that I would go find out what Jeb meant when he said _It's coming true… _and I got dressed in a tight tank top that showed my curves and stylish baggy blue jeans. I was too lazy to undo the ribbons on my shoes so I kept those on and I liked the way my hair was so I left it. I ran out of my room and to the front door.

"Max?" Angel's sweet young voice called through the silence. "Where are you going?" She sounded tired.

"I need to go clear my head. I'll be back soon." I opened the door and left. I walked out into the yard and snapped my wings open. I leaped into the air and started flying upward. About twenty minutes later- using my super speed- I was at the jailhouse. Time to talk to the source.

I walked in and was greeted by an officer.

"Can I help you?" He sounded bored.

"I'm here to visit someone." I answered as sweetly as I could.

He sighed. "Who are you visiting?"

"Jeb Betchelder." I answered reluctantly.

"He'll be happy to get a visitor. No one's come in a month." He stood up from his desk and walked away, I followed.

"Whoa, wait. He's had visitors? Who was it?"

"Not allowed to reveal that information. Criminal- officer confidentiality. Sorry, ma'am."

"He's my father; I think I have a right to know." We stopped at a door and he turned around, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to say. I will say that she meant no harm. She just came to get information out of him- something about sickness with birds… I don't know." He shrugged.

Last month, Nudge became sick and Mom had to take care of her. She left one day and was gone for hours- she came back and she knew what to do to help Nudge; she must've seen Jeb.

I nodded and he opened the door. "Wait in there. He'll be here soon." He motioned me into the small room that was gray and held one steel table and four steel chairs.

"You think, maybe, you could leave the door open while I wait? I'm claustrophobic." I walked in and sat down in one of the seats.

He nodded. "Of course…," Then he left, leaving the door open.

I was waiting for a good four minutes and then the officer returned with another and someone wearing an orange jumpsuit: It was Jeb.

The officer pushed Jeb down into a chair and stood by the door on the outside. The other officer- officer Bob according to his badge- closed the door and stood outside also. Jeb was wearing handcuffs and his hands were in front of him. He smiled sadly at me.

"Hello, Maximum. Good to see you. I'm surprised you're here."

I took in a deep breath. "Yeah, well. I want some answers."

"Of course- about what?" He sat forward and rested his cuffed hands on the table.

"What did you mean by, 'It's coming true'?"

**There's your new chapter. I know, I'm evil- sort of a cliffie there but… I wanted it there so it's there. You'll have to wait for the new chapter to know what Jeb meant. Muahahaha! Yeah, I'm evil. Sorry, though- it won't come out until I get 15 more reviews. So, sign in, read, and review- and then I'll update…**

**~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~**


	9. Chapt 9: Jail, Death of a loved one

_Recap of last chapter:_

_Maximum. __Oh, no. The Voice (aka Jeb) is back. What now. __I've missed you. How've you been?_

_Go away; I'm not talking to a felon. Why do you want to know, anyway? I thought you weren't going to be nosy anymore._

_Maximum, I've missed out on your becoming an adult. Is it my fault that I'd like to know how my daughter is doing?_

_Yes. I sighed internally. But I'm doing good, I guess. Now leave me alone- this is a moment between two people and you're neither of them._

_It's coming true… __Jeb murmured almost to himself._

"_Can I help you?" He sounded bored._

_"I'm here to visit someone." I answered as sweetly as I could._

_He sighed. "Who are you visiting?"_

_"Jeb Betchelder." I answered reluctantly._

_"He'll be happy to get a visitor. No one's come in a month." He stood up from his desk and walked away, I followed._

_"Whoa, wait. He's had visitors? Who was it?"_

_"Not allowed to reveal that information. Criminal- officer confidentiality. Sorry, ma'am."_

_"He's my father; I think I have a right to know."_

"_Hello, Maximum. Good to see you. I'm surprised you're here."_

_I took in a deep breath. "Yeah, well. I want some answers."_

_"Of course- about what?" He sat forward and rested his cuffed hands on the table._

_"What did you mean by, 'It's coming true'?"_

**Long Recap, I know but I needed all of that in so people could remember; think of it as a trailer… I saw BOLT on Sunday, if you like cute films and lots of comedy… BOLT is the movie for you. Any-hoo, I do not own MR.**

**Chapter 9:**

He bit his lip. "I don't know what you're talking about…," he answered unconvincingly.

"Bullshit, now tell me; what did you mean by 'it's coming true'?" I leaned toward him threateningly.

He backed away by an inch. He sighed. "Okay, I _would _tell you but… I'm not allowed. This is one thing that I agree with Itex and the School with. This one little thing that they said is really important and if I tell you what they meant by it, the entire future could be messed up."

"Everything Itex does _destroys _the future, Jeb." He winced when I used his first name instead of dad. "If you don't tell me now, I might actually kill you right here and now. You're choice; death by pissed daughter or living in jail with her hatred for you."

"Maximum, I understand that Itex is a bad company,"

"Evil is more like it…," I mumbled.

"Evil, bad… the point is, is that this doesn't really have anything to do with Itex- they just predicted something that's coming true. It does however," He stood up and started walking around. I stood too so he wouldn't do anything. "Have everything to do with you… and Fang. Mostly you, though."

I walked over and pushed him against the wall and held my arm across his chest to keep him from struggling. "What do you mean _it has everything to do with me and Fang? _And drop the I-can't-tell-you crap because if you don't tell me, I swear to God I will rip your head off."

He gulped. "Max, I really would like to tell you but if I do… they'll get me. Itex- they have insiders everywhere. They'll tell them and kill me. I can't tell you."

I huffed a deep and heavy sigh and let him go. He walked away and sat down back in his chair- I just stood there. _Please? _I asked with my mind. _I know they can't track you in here, so tell me through the voice._

_I can show you better than I can tell you… If you like. _I gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. _Okay, then. This may hurt a bit. Be warned: If you regret seeing this, there's no coming back. _I nodded to show I understood but I didn't face him just yet.

All of the sudden, there was a flash of white and my skull hurt. I was paralyzed. Behind my eyes, I saw many things; they were rushing past me like a slideshow.

_"Mommy, when'd Daddy getting home?" There was a little girl talking to an older version of me._

_"He should be home soon," I answered._

_The girl was about four and I looked like I was twenty-five._

_"How soon? Can't you tell me exactly?" She was bouncing up and down with anticipation._

_I sighed and picked her up. "Mandy, I'm never going to be wrong, you know. You can't bet against a psychic." I smiled at her. My expression turned to one of those of great concentration. "Ten seconds…,"_

_Mandy, my little girl, started to count down from ten. When she hit one, the door opened and an older version of Fang walked in. He smiled at me._

_"Hey," he answered. "Hey, Mandy." His smile widened._

The scene changed.

_I was running through the forest and I was about nineteen years old. I looked upset and devastated. I tripped over a root sticking out of the ground and fell flat on my face and slid a couple feet forward._

_I just lay there crying; thinking 'how could he do that to me? How? Why?'_

_I heard the beat of wings and I stopped crying, I just stayed still and looked bored. Fang landed next to me and flipped me over to look at my face. He looked confused._

_"Max? What are you doing all the way out here? Why you cryin'?" He asked._

_I stood up and glared at him. "You two-timing cheat…," I murmured. He looked stunned and still confused. "I heard you on the phone! I can't believe you would do that to me, Fang!" I started walking away and he followed silently. We ended up in a clearing when he stepped in front of me and stopped me from walking any further._

_"You heard me talking on the phone?" It was a question which sounded like a statement coming out with his tone. I nodded. "Then you'll know what I'm going to do next. Just stay here, okay?" His eyes were pleading._

_He let go of my arms and got down on one knee. I gasped. He grabbed a little blue box out of his leather jacket pocket and he grabbed my left hand._

_"Max, would you-?"_

The scene changed again. My brain was hurting and I felt like if I touched the top of my skull, I'd feel the squishy contents of the inside. I was still paralyzed and I was having trouble breathing.

_"Do you, Fang, take this loving woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and in health? Till death do you part?" a man dressed in black with a white band around his neck asked._

_He nodded and said, with a smile on his face, "I do."_

_"You may now kiss the bride." The man said, smiling._

_Fang turned and lifted the veil off of a dirty blonde's head and kissed her full on the lips. When he and the girl broke apart, I saw that it was me. I smiled wide at him and we hugged each other. Everyone at the wedding applauded and cheered and some of the girls cried out of joy._

There was one more scene; it was slow and something you'd normally see on TV or in the movies. Fully corny when you watch it then but when you experience it like I was, you think it's really sweet- and I don't think anything is sweet, like romantically.

_Fang and I are seventeen and we're dancing slowly out in a garden, there's music and I'm wearing a light blue dress that went down to about my ankles and flat ballerina shoes. We were looking into each others' eyes._

_Fang bent down a little bit to be level with me; it seems I had grown a good two inches and was one inch shorter than he. "Max," he whispered. "You look really girlie."_

_I laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Ella and Nudge bought it for me- I thought I should wear it to be nice." I grimaced looking at the shoes. Fang was in a suit._

_"I didn't say you looked bad, or that you being girlie was a bad thing."_

_I looked back at his eyes and smiled a small smile._

_"Max, I've been meaning to say something; you'll probably laugh and think it's corny or something but… whatever. I think it's corny, to tell the truth but I have to come out with it."_

_I nodded telling him to continue._

_He bit his lip for a second- he looked handsome doing that, and wearing that suit- actually, all the time but you get the idea that Fang biting his lip looks really cute. "Max, I love you."_

The scene cut out and I was free. I gasped and collapsed onto the floor, panting. I sat up holding my throat. Did I just see what I thought I saw? Fang said he loved me? He proposed? We got married, had a kid? I got another ability? What is going on?!

I got up on shaky legs and turned toward Jeb- he looked exhausted.

"What the hell did you just do?" I rasped. My voice was rough.

He cleared his throat. "I tapped into your future power and showed what Itex had been hiding. Since I tapped into your power, you get it now- it won't hurt, don't worry."

"Then why did I hurt now?" I snarled. He had the nerve to hurt me that much; physically, mentally (think about it- he hurt me in a physical way and he hurt my brain. get it?), and emotionally.

"I had to force your power to work and I had to show you those clips of the future."

I wanted to change the subject really badly- I needed to deal with this Fang and me issue by myself. I remembered something. _"He'll be happy to get a visitor. No one's come in a month." _The guard said something.

"Who visited you in the past month?" I asked.

He looked about to have a panic attack. "No one."

"Jeb, you _suck _at lying. Now, damn it, tell me who visited you!" I bellowed with authority.

He sighed. "You…,"

I did a nervous laugh. "Huh?" I asked weakly. I was sure I wasn't going to like the answer.

"You came from the future to talk to me- there, I said it. Happy?" He threw his hands up in defeat.

"If I wanted to talk to you in the future, I would just visit you then. Unless you died or something." He just looked at me with a scared and depressed face. I sunk to my knees. "Oh my God… You're going to die?" I whispered.

He nodded. I covered my mouth with my hand. He may have betrayed the Flock and I and helped an evil corporation but he was still my father. I already saw Ari die, I didn't want Jeb to die too. I just hope that when he does, I'm not there to witness it. I cleared my throat and moved my hand. I stood up and made my way to the door.

"I have to go." I managed to choke out. I opened the door and ran out. I ran all the way out of the jailhouse and into the woods nearby. I opened my wings and flew home, trying to pay attention to the present and not what Jeb showed me. If I don't do what I'm supposed to do, Fang and I might not get together and have that little girl; and, surprisingly, I want to have that little girl. I've never met her but already I love her.

I got home and landed on the roof outside my window. I opened it and climbed in and then walked downstairs to the family room. It was late and Nudge, Ella, and Angel were falling asleep on the couch. Fang was sitting in the armchair falling asleep as well, and Iggy and Gazzy were in the kitchen talking while having a late night snack. I walked over to pick Angel up so I could bring her to her bedroom but I fell to my knees and I was no longer in the present.

_"Max, get out of here!" Jeb yelled at me._

_We were standing in the middle of a circle of people. They looked angry and like they wanted to kill._

_I was eighteen. I looked at Jeb, afraid and then my expression changed to determination. "No," I said sternly._

_"Max, listen to me. They don't want you- they want me. I betrayed them and now they want me to pay the price." There was a large opening of the circle and Jeb pushed me through. I couldn't see him anymore because the people crowded around him again. I ran over to a tree since we were outside and climbed to a limb of which would hold my weight. Right when I sat down on the tree limb, one of the people shot Jeb and he fell to the ground, dead. Blood started pooling around him and I screamed out of terror, furry, and loss. I had lost my father._

I gasped and was sucked back to the present. I was being held and I didn't realize I had been sobbing. I didn't try to stop, I just let the grief come over me and I cried for about ten minutes. All the while, I had been saying quietly, "I couldn't save him; he wouldn't let me save him." When I was done crying, my entire family was crowding around me on the floor. Angel, Nudge, and Ella were sitting on the couch looking at me; Gazzy and Iggy were standing in the corner staring at me worriedly; Mom was sitting off to my right looking horrified; Total was in Angel's lap staring at me warily- probably thinking I would burst into tears again- and Fang was the one holding me. He had been smoothing my hair away from my face and rocked me gently.

I sat up and Fang let his grip go of me. I wiped my eyes and everything was quiet.

"Max, what- what happened? One minute you were going to pick Angel up and then next you're screaming bloody murder." Nudge looked at me concerned.

I sniffled. "I- I saw Jeb." Silent tears streamed down my cheeks. "I saw him murdered- and he wouldn't let me save him." My voice had steel in it.

"Like, did you have an out-of-body experience? Only… for real?" Ella asked.

I shook my head vigorously. "No! I saw the future! I was eighteen. These people surrounded us and Jeb pushed me away and then he was shot."

Fang gently pulled me back into him and wiped my tears away, trying to calm me down.

"That still doesn't explain why you screamed like _you _were dying, though." Iggy pointed out, coming closer.

I started to get a little aggravated. "I didn't just _see_ him die. I _felt _him die. I felt the bullet pierce my skin, I felt my heartbeat slow down, I felt darkness and coldness envelope me; I felt it _all!" _I almost broke down again but I held it together in front of the kids. "All of you, go to sleep; it's late." No one moved. "I'm fine, now go." My voice was hard and everyone slowly moved away from where they were to the stairs and up; everyone except Mom and Fang. They helped me stand up and I walked up the stairs shaking and went to my room.

I lay face down on my bed and cried myself to sleep. The pain of dying and not actually dying was excruciating. I did not enjoy it one bit. While I was asleep, I kept thinking about Mandy, mine and Fang's daughter. I was twenty-five in that vision and Mandy was four; I had her when I was twenty-one. Wow, things seemed to go fast with us.

"Ew!" I heard Angel exclaim.

I woke up and chuckled into my pillow. She ran down the hall and opened my door, her mouth hanging wide open.

"I know exactly what you meant by that and that's really gross. But," She closed the door and ran over to me in my bed. "Is it true? Do you and Fang have a kid in the future?"

What do I say?

**There you have it. Chapter 9! I didn't know when to end so I thought, "Hey, why not leave another cliffie? That'll shake them all up!" I won't be writing this week; it's nothing personal, I have a lot of homework to do and I'm volunteering on Friday so I'm going to be really busy. I want to thank all of the people who have put me as a favorite author, this as their favorite story, and have reviewed to this story and to my TWILIGHT one. Thank you all. If I thanked everyone individually, we'd be here all month. LOL. Anyway, check back next week and I'll have the next chapter up- hopefully.**

**~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~**


	10. Chapt 10: Lee and 'Oh no'

**Okay, I felt bad about saying for you to wait ONE WHOLE WEEK so I'm posting today- Wednesday. But I will be busy for the rest of the week so I won't post till… next Thursday? I don't know but I do know that you'll all have to wait a while for the next chapter. I'm also going to try to add more chapters for my Twilight story. Disclaimer: I don't own M.R. -JP does.**

**Chapter 10:**

I woke up at 8 a.m. exhausted. I didn't necessarily want to go back to sleep but I didn't want to get up either. Last night was horrible.

_Flashback:_

_"Is it true? Are you and Fang going to have a baby when you're older?" Angel asked curiously._

_I decided to tell her the truth; she'd find out eventually. I sat up and looked her in the eyes._

_"Angel," I said softly but sternly. "Do not tell anyone about this- understand? Not Mom, not Ella, Nudge, or Gazzy. Not Iggy, Total- definitely not Fang. It could mess up the entire future and it may not happen, do you get what I'm saying?"_

_She nodded. "Yeah, but can I please tell Total? He won't tell anyone. Actually, he's been waiting for you guys to get together for a while now."_

_I narrowed my eyes at her. "Fine. But explain to him about everything that could happen if he tells. Okay?" I really wanted Mandy._

_She nodded._

_Back to present._

After I had told Angel about Mandy, she had gone to tell Total and I had fallen asleep.

I got up and got dressed- thank God it's Sunday! I went downstairs and found Angel and Total having a staring contest; Iggy, Gazzy, and Fang watching TV; Ella, Nudge, and Mom were looking at pictures of the party from yesterday. Okay, so Iggy wasn't really watching TV- more like, listening.

"Total's going to win," I mumbled.

A second later, Angel rapidly blinked and rubbed her eyes with her fists. She looked at me and so did everyone else; Gazzy muted the TV.

"What?" I asked.

"How'd you know Total was going to win?" asked Fang.

I smiled and tapped my forehead. "I'm psychic, remember?"

Gazzy grinned and faced me while kneeling on the couch. "What number am I thinking of?"

"Gaz, she's not a mind-,"

Angel and I cut Iggy off. "12."

"How'd you-?" Fang asked.

"She looked into the future and saw what I was going to say. Right, Max?" Angel smiled at me after she was done interrupting Fang.

I smiled and nodded. _Remember, no one else knows…_

Angel smiled, well, angelically at me.

Mom walked over to me. "You okay? I mean, about yesterday?" She asked gently.

Everyone went back to what they were doing before but I knew they were listening.

"Yeah, um," I looked at my feet and then back up to her eyes. "Truth is, it's not going to happen when I'm 19. It'll happen sooner because I got my power sooner and the killers will find out sooner. And I've come to terms where I understand why he'll sacrifice himself for me; to keep us safe and out of danger. I accept that." my voice was monotone. I looked at the TV and everything went fuzzy for a second, then everything came back into perspective. I ran to the couch and snatched up the remote. "Uh-uh!" I turned the TV off.

Iggy, Gazzy, and Fang groaned. "Max, why'd you do that?" Fang whined- yes, he whined. He gets very cranky in the morning and when you mess with him, he acts like Nudge… minus the talking part.

"Do you know what movie you were watching?"

"Yeah, Me, Myself, and Irene."

"Yes, and it's rated R." Fang looked at me like, 'so?' "Gazzy is too young and so are we."

Fang rolled his eyes. "We've seen worse."

"It's rated R for the…" I trailed off thinking of a way to tell him. I bent over and whispered in his ear. "Fang, you were about to let Gazzy see every single thing that happens during sex."

I backed away and his eyes widened and he put on a disgusted expression. "Ugh! Good catch, Max. Gazzy, trust Max; you're too young."

I whapped the back of his head.

"And so are we," He added as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Wait, I'm confused; why can't we see it, Fang?" Iggy was completely lost.

Fang whispered in Iggy's ear what I had whispered to him. Iggy laughed and agreed that Gazzy shouldn't see the movie.

About an hour later, we were all sitting at the kitchen table having a late breakfast and early lunch.

"Door for Fang," I said after drinking my glass of OJ.

The doorbell rang and Fang got up. He rolled his eyes at me and I saw what he was going to do. I picked up a piece of toast and started to butter it.

"Unless you want a broken nose, I wouldn't," I looked up from underneath my lashes and smirked at him.

He huffed out a breath as everyone snickered at him. I took a bite of my toast as a vision- or whatever you want to call it- came to me. I dropped the toast and was zoning. It's kind of hard to stay in the present when the future grabs you and sucks you in. I heard Iggy and Ella asking me if I was okay but I couldn't answer them. Angel said I was just looking to the future so they let up.

In my vision, I saw Fang with Lee- a girl from our Biology class, she has long black hair down to her hips and she had jade-green eyes. –and they were kissing. Lee seemed to be kissing Fang more than Fang seemed to be kissing Lee, though. They were at Lee's house and they were in her family room, sitting on the couch. I came back out and I stared down at my toast, willing the tears to stay in me and not fall down my cheeks. Maximum Ride is not a sissy, wuss, pansy, or anything that cries easily! So, why was I crying? Oh yeah, because I just saw my future husband kiss another girl.

I pushed my chair back from the table and stood up, not looking at anyone. I walked to the front of the house where the stairs was- and unfortunately, the front door- and I was about to walk up the stairs.

"Oh, hi, Max."

I turned around with a smile on my face. "Hey, Lee. What're you doing here?" _Bitch…_

"Nick and I are partnered for Biology. I came over so we could go to the store and get what we need for our project. Then we're going to my house to finish it." Lee was a cheery girl who was a fan of my band; she had no idea I was Lapis, though.

"That's great. Be sure to back for dinner, Nick." I kept the fake smile on my face and I could hear Angel mentally gasp at what she saw when she found the vision.

"Are you done eating, Max? You didn't eat much." Fang was always concerned about how much we ate because we could easily get sick if we didn't eat at least 1/3 of how much we could normally contain.

"Yeah, for now, anyway. I'm just gonna go upstairs and write a couple more songs."

"You write songs?" I could tell Lee hated to be left out of the conversation.

I nodded. "I write all the songs for S.O.T.W."

She looked confused. "No, Lapis Lazuli does. She even says so,"

I chuckled. "I am Lapis Lazuli." I whispered.

Her eyes widened and Fang gently shoved her out the door. Before he closed it, he gave me a 'thanks-a-lot' look. Lee wasn't going to shut up about me being Lazuli.

As the door closed, I got angry and my smile faded. I ran to my room and grabbed a dagger I had taken from Itex as we destroyed the head building; a memory. I ran outside in the backyard and started practicing my throws. I'd throw it at a tree and pull it back with my telekinesis. I did that until dinner time when Fang came home. I sat in my usual spot and Fang sat across from me in his usual spot. I didn't look at him throughout the entire dinner. I was also panting because I had overworked myself.

"You okay?" Fang had asked me.

"I'm fine!" I snapped. I finished my dinner and put the dishes in the sink; it was mine and Fang's turn to wash the dishes.

Everyone was done and all their dishes were by the sink. I was washing off a plate, completely zoning out, when Fang bumped me with his elbow.

I looked at him sideways and cocked an eyebrow. Then I concentrated on the dishes again.

He sighed. "Max…," He went silent for a minute as I handed him the plate to dry and put in the dishwasher. He spoke again: "What's going on? You looked as though you were about to murder Lee."

I chuckled but said nothing.

Fang put a hand on my shoulder and I stopped scrubbing the pan and looked at him. He raised his eyebrows.

I sighed and looked away. I continued scrubbing as I spoke. "Okay… I had a vision of Lee and you," I hoped he'd drop it.

"Okay," I handed him the pan. "Go on." Argh!

"I saw you two in her house…in the family room on the couch… doin' stuff." I snuck a peek at his face and he flushed, looking away. "It just surprised me, that's all."

"Hmm…," was his response. He finally looked at me. "She kissed me, ya know. Did you see me push her back?" He sounded like he was reassuring me that nothing was going on with them.

"No, and you don't have to tell me."

"Don't I?"

I stopped scrubbing and faced him. "I don't know- why would you?" I was confused.

He scoffed and put the rest of the dishes and dish soap in the dishwasher. He closed it and turned it on, then he faced me.

_Max, he wants you to know that no one else can replace you. He doesn't care for Lee that way. And he doesn't exactly know how to phrase it with as little words as possible. _Thank you, Angel. _You're welcome!_

I sighed and looked at him. Would I run away? I looked into the future- nope. He saw the glossy sheen in my eyes and helped me keep steady since I started to sway. His expression was blank but his eyes were worried and curious.

"Max? What happened?" he asked gently.

I didn't know what t say so I said; "This,"

I put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him lightly. He froze, shocked and I pulled back. I did a small smile and his hands fell off my arms. I walked away toward my room and then I stopped dead in my tracks. I saw a horrible sight and I dropped to my knees.

Fang was at my side, instantly as was everyone else.

"Oh no," Angel and I whispered in unison.


	11. Chapt 11: No, Martyrs, Guess Who

**Bam! Here's chapter 11! A lot will happen in the past 3-4 chapters or so, so yeah. I forgot to say… In one of the last chapters, the ending was saying 'it's coming true…' and it was a cliffie. Someone guessed immediately what it was about so here is their recognition: dallascowboysncountrymusicfan and I let them pick the name for the girl in the last chapter: Lee. So there ya go! Disclaimer: You should know by now that I, in no way possible, own M.R. Although, I do own some future characters.**

**Chapter 11:**

"Max, what are you talking about?" Fang was following me around the house as was everyone else except for Angel: She was packing some clothes and necessities.

I sighed as I packed some shirts into my backpack. "I told you! Flyboys and whitecoats are coming! We have to get out of here! If we don't, they'll take Mom and Ella too. Now pack and let's leave." I finished packing and ran out the door.

Fang ran to his room and everyone packed their stuff. We didn't even have time to hug Mom and Ella. We brought Total too because there was no way he was being left behind. We ran out the back door and through the woods. About five minutes later, we wound up in a clearing. We spread our wings out but apparently, other people had different plans. We were jumped and tied up. Our wrists and ankles were put together and we couldn't do anything but struggle. Three flyboys had to hold me while two had to hold everyone else each. We thrashed and tried as hard as we could to get free but we were well restrained. A whitecoat came through the crowd of other whitecoats and flyboys and approached me. We were in the middle of a circle. The whitecoat was male and Mexican. He smiled at me like we've known each other our whole lives.

"Ah… Max. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, Angel… Hello," he said. "My name is Dr. Theodore."

"What do you want?" I spat. I kicked up, trying to break free.

"You," I stopped and looked at him through my hair. "All of you. We want you to come with us and, of course, to see something that you made worse, Max." He grinned a sickly grin; it made my stomach clench.

Two whitecoats stepped through the crowd as well and carried a body with familiar brown hair. They threw him to the ground and he looked at me through a black eye. He had scratches, scrapes, and gashes all along his body; it was Jeb. I gasped and mouthed his name. I could barely recognize him.

I looked at Theodore angrily. "Leave him alone." I snarled.

He sucked in a breath. "I believe I can't do that. He's a traitor to the School; he stole you from us, he gave away confidential information, and he helped Itex to its downfall. He must pay the consequences. He also gave you a power you were not ready to have; you should have gotten it when you were twenty- seven. If you lived that long that is." He motioned the whitecoats forward to grab Jeb.

My heart sank. "No, you can't," I thrashed again. "No! Please, no!" I screeched. Jeb may have betrayed us and hurt us but I still loved him from the day he saved us and finding out he was my dad made me slightly giddy. Another flyboy came over and held me down. I looked away from Jeb; I didn't want to see this…

Theodore walked over to my side and pulled my face to look at my beaten father by my chin. "You must watch… After all, it is your fault."

"Max, what's he talking about?" Fang asked anger in his voice.

I didn't answer; my eyes were locked on Jeb as the two deadbeats picked him up and forced him to stand. He looked so exhausted but I knew what he was really feeling; I could see it in his eyes. He was afraid for me and the Flock, he was afraid for us- he didn't want us to die-, _he _didn't want to die. He looked into my eyes with sorrow.

One teardrop fell from my eyes as Jeb was shot right in front of my Flock and I. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion at the moment; I screamed and it seemed distant, Angel and Gazzy were crying and thrashing, Iggy and Fang were wearing blank expressions and trying to get free as well, and Nudge was so still, I thought she was going into shock. I was crying and thrashing and screaming, trying- just trying- to get to my father. But they weren't letting me go and I couldn't use as much force as I'd have like to. I was weak due to my sobbing.

One second, I was screaming and sobbing and thrashing- the next, everything was black and I was out cold.

I awoke to a grey room with brick walls and a steel door. There were two cameras in the top corners of the room by the door. My Flock was with me; Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, and Total were by one wall and Fang and I were at the one across from them. We were all shackled with steel shackles and chains connecting to the walls. They were around our wrists and ankles and only gave a foot away from the wall; they were getting better at restraining experiments. The floors were black tile with dirt caked on. My Flock started to wake up.

"Max?" Nudge looked at me first and then around her; her eyes widened by the slightest. "Where are we?"

"I'm guessing the School, sweetie." I answered sullenly. I looked pointedly at the cameras and tried to unplug them with my telekinesis. Nothing happened. I tried again; nothing. I panicked and now everyone was up.

"Nudge," I stammered. "Try to unplug the metal cameras."

She nodded, confused, but tried. Again, nothing happened.

Angel gasped. "I can't hear anything! All of you are quiet! I can't… I can't read what you're thinking." She was upset.

Total spoke next. "What's going on here?"

So, apparently, the whitecoats used something in the shackles to disable our abilities. I can't use telekinesis, see the future, use my super-hearing, or pull my wings in. Fang can't turn invisible and Iggy can't see at all and his senses are the same as ours. Angel can't read minds or control them, speak to fish, breathe underwater, or anything else she can do- basically, we're just humans with wings now. All the abilities the whitecoats know about were disabled. After about twenty minutes, we stopped struggling against the shackles.

I hung my head as Iggy and Gazzy talked about what they could use to make a bomb, and Nudge and Angel were just whispering about something I didn't hear. Fang, I could see, was staring at me with concern in his eyes.

"Max?" he murmured. "You okay?"

"No, I'm _not _okay," I rasped out sharply at him- I was trying to hold back tears. "He was right."

"Who?"

"Theodore- Theodore was right!" I yelled at him. Everyone went quiet and looked at me with shock- Iggy faced me, though. I took in a deep breath. "It is my fault. Jeb warned me when I went to visit him in jail- he said if they found out, they'd get him. I didn't listen… and it got him killed. He was supposed to die peacefully but I saw a vision of him die when I was 19. _They _found out sooner and they just murdered him because of me! And you all had to witness it! My own father… killed because he did the right thing and ditched the bad guys." I shook my head. "He was right… All my fault." I started to noiselessly cry.

"Shut up," Fang said sternly.

He's never said that to me and I stopped crying and looked at him with shock, through my hair. Everyone's expressions were the same.

"What?" I demanded.

"I said, shut up. Theodore was wrong; it's not your fault. You didn't see it come and the vision was a warning to you- to let you be ready for his death. I don't care if you think you weren't ready to see it. You were. If you hadn't had that vision, you would've acted a lot differently and possibly would have been killed because of it. Max, it's not your fault at all. Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault because a damn whitecoat says it's your fault." His voice was cold and hard.

I just stared at him with my mouth slightly open. "That… has got to be… the longest speech… you have ever given."

The mood lightened up and he smirked. I had to be strong for the Flock; that's what he was saying… and that, you know, it really wasn't my fault. But if you could see the future and someone you loved died and you didn't see it coming, you'd think you were at fault too.

A whitecoat stepped in and I recognized him to be the guy who shot Jeb. I leaped at him and the chains stopped me. I almost growled. He walked over to Fang and grabbed his chin. He turned Fang's head left, right, up, and down, examining it. Fang jerked his head out of the sick guys hold and bit his fingers. I chuckled and the whitecoat stopped, mid-slap. He looked at me, with his hand raised ready to smack Fang across the face. He stood up and walked over to me. He bent down to his knees to get to my eyelevel.

"You think that's funny, Blondie?" he asked me, snidely.

I sneered. "Yeah, I do, actually. It'd be even funnier if you bled… or if you died instead of Jeb," I almost finished my rude comment but he slapped me across the face so hard, my head went with the momentum and flew to the side. The whitecoat left.

I looked at my Flock and saw that they were leaning against their restraints because they tried to break free to get the whitecoat because he slapped me.

"We'll get out of here. Don't worry." I reassured everyone.

Gazzy looked at me skeptically. "How?"

"I have a plan…," I think. Fang raised an eyebrow at me. "I do." I hoped this worked… "Have you ever noticed at my concerts that nothing goes wrong? No mosh pits? No mic feedback? No chaos?" They all nodded slowly. "Well, and I'm just hypothesizing here, I think that's because of my singing."

"Huh?" Iggy scratched his head, confused.

I sighed, closed my eyes, and sang low.

_Where are we?  
What the hell is going on?  
The dust has only just begun to form  
crop circles in the carpet  
sinking feeling  
_my voice started to have an eerie pitch to it. My eyes stayed closed but I could hear steel bending. I concentrated._  
spin me round again  
and rub my eyes,  
this can't be happening  
when busy streets amass with people  
would stop to hold their heads heavy_

hide and seek  
trains and sewing machines  
all those years  
they were here first  
I felt air rushing around me and it seemed as though I were in a wind funnel. I opened my eyes and everything was tinted purple by the slightest. My Flock gasped and my hair was being blown everywhere._  
oily marks appear on walls  
where pleasure moments hung before the takeover,  
the sweeping insensitivity of this still life_

hide and seek  
trains and sewing machines (oh, you won't catch me around here)  
blood and tears (hearts)  
they were here first  
The cameras blew up in small explosions and our powers seemed to be coming back. Iggy was blinking like crazy and smiled when he saw and then looked surprised by my eyes; they were a deep purple and the color covered most of the white space. I kept singing._  
Mmm What'cha say,  
Mmm that you only meant well?  
Well of course you did  
Mmm What'cha say,  
Mmm that it's all for the best?  
Of course it is  
mmm What'cha say?  
Mmm that it's just what we need  
you decided this  
What'cha say?  
Mmm what did you say?  
_Angel smiled and I knew she got her powers back, Nudge was working on breaking the steel shackles and Gazzy and Iggy were creating bombs with material they had snuck in._  
ransom notes keep falling out your mouth  
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs  
speak no feeling no I don't believe you  
you don't care a bit,  
you don't care a bit_

(hide and seek)  
ransom notes keep falling out your mouth  
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs

(hide and seek)  
speak no feeling no I don't believe you  
you don't care a bit,  
you don't care a (you don't care a) bit

(hide and seek)  
oh no, you don't care a bit  
oh no, you don't care a bit  
Fang turned invisible for a second and I could tell because he just became a shadow and when he reappeared, he smiled a rare smile at me._  
(Hide and seek)  
oh no, you don't care a bit  
you don't care a bit  
you don't care a bit_

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. I grabbed my head for a second and shook it. When I opened my eyes again, everything looked normal again; nothing was tinted purple anymore and wind wasn't blowing around me anymore either. I looked at my Flock and smiled smugly.

"Told you…," I said in a sing-song teasing voice. They all rolled their eyes. "Nudge? Can you break these?"

She tried to snap the shackles off me and then she shrieked, pressing her palms to her temples. She shook her head vigorously. "No! They shocked me when I tried."

Damn… these guys are getting smart. I looked over at Fang and he wore the same expression as me. My vision went hazy and I was pulled into the future. After ten seconds, I was pulled back out with everyone staring at me.

I looked at the door expectantly. Everyone followed my lead. "Let me deal with this," I told them. "Five… four… three… two…" The countdown reminded me of Mandy in the visions Jeb had sent me. I smiled a small smile. "One…" Two whitecoats- one boy, one girl- walked in.

The door shut behind them and they walked over to me; Fang went rigid next to me and the girl noticed and seemed confused. I waved him off.

"Don't mind him. It's our instinct." I explained.

The girl nodded and sat next to me and pulled out a key. She started unlocking my shackles and the guy talked quietly to me.

"Did you-?" He asked. He cut himself off in case this room was bugged other than the already destroyed cameras. I nodded. "Okay. I'm glad you can trust us."

"I have faith in my visions."

"Max, what's going on?" Nudge asked, nervously.

_Max, she thinks you turned over to their side… _Angel informed me.

"I had a vision of these two coming to help us. They're not whitecoats; they're experiments."

Everyone nodded.

"How do you know for sure?" Fang asked stiffly.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you trust me?" I honestly felt hurt that not one of them trusted my judgment. The shackles were undone and I grabbed a key from the girl. I walked over to Total to undo him since one shackle was around his neck but stopped. I scoffed and threw the key away. "Wait… what am I doing?" I held my hand out. "Total, don't make any sudden movements." I closed my eyes and used my mind to tear apart the metal.

The boy and girl experiments looked at me with awe. They watched me as I undid Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, and Fang. We were all getting ready to leave when I froze. Fang was pulling on my arm and I was looking into the distance.

"Get back into your positions." They all looked at me confused. "Pull out one piece of hair and set it in one of the shackle things. Then close them- someone's coming!" We all ran to our spots by the walls and did as I instructed. Fang used his power to make the boy and girl invisible so they could sneak out as Theodore came in. It worked.

Theodore walked in and the two left.

"How are all of you? Comfy?" he asked pleasantly.

"What do you think?" I scowled. "Do you expect us to be comfortable with chains on?"

He merely shrugged. "Just to let you know, you'll never get out. I'm sure you've noticed by now that your powers don't work," On the contraire… "And you have no idea where we are."

"Mind explaining who the 'we' is?" I asked.

"We are the last School in the world. We were not funded by Itex but were close with their decisions. We are the more advanced School, as you can see. And we thought it best if we hide out somewhere where no one would ever think to look for a School. Only our workers know where we are." Theodore smiled triumphantly.

"Oh yeah? Where's that? Frankfort, Kentucky?" I snickered.

His jaw tightened and his eyes blazed. "Who's your inside source to this kind of information?" He asked tightly wound.

I laughed. "Oh my God, that was just a guess."

Theodore walked over to me and grabbed me by the neck and choked me a bit. "What else do you know?" he nearly shouted.

"I know…," I looked into the future. "That we're going to escape from here."

He squeezed harder and Fang was about to jump out of his skin, he was so angry. I had been holding my breath so choking me didn't make a difference. I can hold my breath for hours. Since I showed no signs of hurting or fainting, he let go and I silently gasped for air and made it look like I was fine. He left, but before the door closed, he smiled and said; "There's no way all of you will live if you do escape. We will kill at least two of you." The door shut and soon we were standing up and by the window behind me.

"Wait!" Angel yelled. "What about the two experiments that helped us? Shouldn't they come too?"

I nodded and at that moment, the boy and girl came walking in. We all had to open the window together because it wouldn't budge and we all leaped out. I grabbed the girl and Fang grabbed the boy and we jumped out after the others. We landed carefully on the ground. Fang and I let go of them and they thanked us.

"Not to be rude but… What are your names?" I asked.

"I'm Milo and she's Mandy." said the boy, Milo.

My heart skipped a beat. Mandy? In the building, sirens went off saying that we had escaped. Flyboys and whitecoats came rushing out with tasers, knives, guns, and anything dangerous. They pointed them at us.

We all immediately started fighting whitecoats and flyboys and we were winning; apparently, this School didn't have buff whitecoats and they all had bad aim. Many were knocked out in less than ten minutes. A lot of whitecoats had retreated back into the buildings and we had destroyed all the flyboys.

"Come with us," Nudge suggested to Milo and Mandy.

"We'd like to but we'd just be a burden." Milo kindly declined.

"No, it's okay; you helped us and now we need to return the favor." Nudge persisted.

I saw it one second before it happened. Two of the flyboys had been playing 'broken' and they leapt up near Mandy and Milo. No one had time to react. Mandy heard them start up and she saw that one had a gun trained on my head. No one moved. The other flyboy was ready to grab Fang; one false move and both of us were dead.

We all saw the flyboy's finger start to squeeze the trigger and Mandy threw herself in front of me; she got shot. Milo jumped the flyboy but he was prepared. Milo's neck snapped. All of us screamed or shouted and I attacked the flyboys in pure rage. First, the School takes Ari. Then, the take Jeb. And now, they took two new friends of the Flock; Mandy and Milo. I killed the two flyboys using no energy what so ever. The School was only thirty feet away; I could easily go back and murder all those people who've been destroying people's lives. I started to walk toward the building and Fang obviously knew what I was going to do. He grabbed me around the waist and held me to his chest as I struggled to go and hurt everyone that hurt me and my Flock.

I was yelling and beating Fang's arms and yet he never broke his hold of me. "Max," I wasn't listening to him. "Max," I didn't answer, I just thrashed. "Max!"

I stopped struggling and looked at his worried and furious face.

"They killed them… They killed almost everyone I care about… they killed Ari, Jeb, and now they killed Mandy and Milo. I have to get back at them. They need to know how much they hurt me!" I struggled again.

Fang, in one swift movement, had pinned my arms down to my sides while still having his arms wrapped around my waist. "Max, it's okay. You'll get your revenge."

The School blew up and I just stared. I slumped against Fang and he held me. My family was getting ready to fly away and Fang let me go so I could too.

We flew away and we were almost to a clearing when something happened. A portal type thing popped open in the sky and a little body fell out of it. Fang saw the body and flew faster to catch it.

And you'll never guess who it was. No one else knew, but I did. It was…


	12. Chapt 12: Little girl and Surprise Guest

**I'm just going to say this right here; I am not going to post anymore chapters until after Christmas. I will be busy with family get-togethers. Oh joy! LOL. Any way, I know that I've said before that I wouldn't post this week but I'm doing all of you amazing fans a favor and posting before the weekend because I leave then. My poll is closed, thank you for voting. I do not own M.R. JP does.**

**Chapter 12:**

_And you'll never guess who it was. No one else knew, but I did. It was…_

The little body was someone I've met before in a vision whom I love dearly; Mandy- my baby. But now, Mandy wasn't a four year old little girl; she's a ten year old who looks as though she inherited my attitude. Oops. She has dark brown eyes that are a mix between Fang's black ones and my chocolate brown ones. She has high cheekbones long black hair with a golden sheen to it and occasional gold locks mixed in. Her wings are very dark purple with brown mixed in; it sounds odd but it looked gorgeous. Everyone was staring at the girl dumbstruck.

"Guys, let's land." I told my Flock. Mandy was just trying to get out of fang's grip, her eyes were closed and she didn't see who spoke or who was holding her. My Flock did as I instructed and we landed in a nearby meadow.

Iggy got to work on a fire and Gazzy and Angel were speaking telepathically I'm guessing because they were looking at each other carefully. Nudge was sitting around and staying quiet- how unlike her. Fang was setting the girl down.

Mandy slipped in some mud and almost landed on her butt. I used my telekinesis to hold her above the ground so she wouldn't fall and get messy. I know, I'm so motherly. I lifted her back up to her feet and Fang grabbed her wrists to restrain her.

Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge ran over and bombarded her with questions.

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Do you speak English? Because it'd be cool if you spoke something else, too, you know."

"Angel, Gazzy, Nudge… lay off." I barked. I could tell Mandy was on overload.

They all looked at me shocked; including Total- who was sitting next to Iggy-, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Fang.

"Whoa, Max. I've never heard you talk like that to them. To whitecoats, yes, but the Flock? Never…," Iggy said with astonishment.

I shook my head and waved him off. "Let me talk to her… alone."

I walked over and grabbed Mandy's arm. I pulled her away from the Flock and to the huddle of trees around us. I walked far enough out where I couldn't hear the Flock and they couldn't hear me. I pushed her in front of me and just looked at her.

"I-" She tried to speak but I cut her off with a hug. "Uh, what are you doing?" She tried to struggle out of my grasp.

"Mandy, what are you doing here?" I asked as I backed away. I held her forearms, though.

Her eyes widened and I could tell her attitude was about to kick in. "Okay, how do you know my name and where am I?"

"Mandy, I'm your mother. You're in the past."

"No, no. You're not my mother- my mother's in her thirties." She broke my grasp.

I stood up straight and crossed my arms over my chest. I raised my eyebrow. "In the future, yes, she is. But this is the past and I, Maximum Ride, your mother, am 14. Now, tell me what are you doing here? And how did you get here?" I was seriously confused.

"I can time-travel-" I stopped her.

"Okay, look. Let's go back and tell the others why you're here but… Don't tell anyone that you're Fang's and mine daughter. 'Kay? We don't need them to freak out about this. Angel can know- she already does. You're lucky that Fang caught you or you'd have gone _splat _against the ground." I pulled her against my side and smiled at her. She smiled back and her smile was the same as Fang's. We walked back to camp and everyone looked at us like we both had grown two extra heads.

"Max? Can I… speak to you for a sec?" Fang asked eyeing Mandy.

I nodded and Mandy looked nervous. I squeezed her shoulder.

"Don't worry- I won't let them send you away…," I let go and jogged over to Fang. "Yeah?"

"Why do you look so buddy- buddy with that kid? She could be, I don't know, evil or something…," Fang pointed out.

I laughed. "Mandy? Evil? Hardly… She's a good kid. She's on our side."

"Mandy? Like, that girl who saved us today?" Fang's eyebrows drew together.

"This Mandy is from the future."

"She looks like you, you know." Fang noticed, looking at her talk to Gazzy and Angel.

I looked back at her and then back at Fang. I smiled. "She can time-travel. She sort of… overshot it. I don't know _why _she wanted to go back but… we can find out now."

He nodded and then he disappeared. Not like turning invisible but just in a blink of an eye, he disappeared. I looked into the future to see what happened and then I looked toward Mandy and ran over. He reappeared in front of me and he slid back and fell on his backside. Everyone laughed but Mandy and I.

"What the-?" He sat up holding his head.

"You teleported." Mandy and I said in unison.

"How did you know that?" Nudge asked curiously. She looked at both of us.

I pointed to myself. "Can see the future," I pointed to Mandy. "From the future." Mandy nodded in agreement.

"Max, can I tell them who Mandy is? I mean, it's not like they'll guess who _he _is." Angel begged.

I looked into the future as I helped Fang up off the ground. "Uh, I don't see any harm."

"M- Max!" Mandy caught herself about to say Mom. "What if the future is messed up after they know? You're a lot smarter in the future…,"

I raised my eyebrow at her. "Excuse me, young lady, but remember- I can see the future. I saw no harm which means… there is no harm. And do not argue with me, you should know better."

Everyone looked at me and I sighed. They were all curious about why I had yelled at Mandy and Mandy looked like every teenage girl after their mother yelled at them; bored out of their mind and guilty.

"Mandy… is my… daughter."

Almost all of their eyes bugged out of their heads. Iggy's jaw dropped as he actually saw Mandy. His eyesight was coming back and letting him see her clearly. He did a low whistle.

"Iggy! Stop whistling at my daughter!" I snapped at him.

"Hey! C'mon! She looks-"

"I swear to God, Iggy, I swear… I will bash your head in!"

"Ah… that's my mom." Mandy crossed her arms and smiled at me in a proud way. She glared daggers at Iggy. "Eh, you weren't kidding when you said Iggy was a sexist pig."

"Hey!" Iggy yelled from the fire.

"I did not say that…yet. And, Iggy, you know that's true." I turned away from him and mumbled, "I don't know what Carrie will see in you."

Mandy giggled.

"So, Mandy, why did you come to the past?" Gazzy asked.

"Well, I meant to go one week into the past because…a friend…and I broke a valuable thing of Mom's that she got for her birthday."

"Mandeline! How could you?! Oh, in the future, you are so grounded." (**Mandeline= Man dell een**) I crossed my arms.

"That's why I wanted to go into the past. I normally can't go back and forth more than a few minutes so a friend of mine used his power to amp mine up and I guess I went too far. But for some reason, you always catch me before I go."

"That's because I see you leaving in my visions. I also know there's another reason for you coming here."

She sighed defeated. Then she brightened. "Nothing ever gets past you, Mom." I stared at her. "Fine! I was also going to come back to stop Dad from leaving you."

My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean, 'leaving me'?"

Gazzy, Nudge, Fang, and Angel walked away to give us privacy.

"Dad and you had a big fight and it upset Mi- me… me- it upset me- and you told Dad if he wanted to argue with you then he could just leave and…he did. You were upset for weeks; I didn't like seeing it."

"Who's this other person you were about to say?" My voice was shaky. Fang? Leaving me? Even after he had promised to never leave me again?

"Milo… he's my brother."

"Why is it that you and your brother are named the same as the two experiments that saved us?"

"Because you named us after them. They were a big part of your life; if it weren't for them… you'd all be stuck in the last School out there. You felt like you needed to."

I nodded and then another portal opened and a smaller kid fell out more gracefully.

"What is this, Max? Another one of your offspring?" Fang sounded annoyed. I punched him in the shoulder as he walked over. He smirked.

This little kid made Fang's jaw drop. "Holy…,"


	13. Chapt 13: Little Boy and Fun

**Chapter 13:**

Fang picked up the little kid who looked about five years old and held him up by the forearms to keep him from falling.

The little kid was a boy who looked exactly like Fang only he had wings close to my color and very dark brown hair instead of black. His eyes were Fang's color as well but you could see a little bit of me in there as well if you looked; it was Milo.

"Milo!" Mandy ran over and hugged him after shoving Fang to the side. Fang didn't shove back, he just stood there.

"Milo?" Fang repeated confused.

I used my 'super-hearing' and listened to what Mandy was going to say. "Milo, no one knows that you're my brother except Mom. You look more like Dad so you can't call Mom 'Mom. You have to call Dad 'Dad.' Be the big kid you try to tell everyone you are." She squeezed him a little harder and then pulled away. "Now what are you doing here?" She asked him in a full voice.

"I felt that you overshot your destination and I followed you here so you could go back home." He glanced at all of us. "By the looks of it, you _really _overshot it." He looked at her and smiled a smile like mine.

I crossed my arms. "No, Fang. It's your offspring." I smirked at him and his jaw dropped once more.

He pointed at Milo and a little squeak came out of his mouth. I walked over to him and pushed his chin up to close his mouth. Then, I walked over to Milo.

"Hey, little guy. You remember me, right?" I said, bending down to his level and grabbing his hands in mine. He nodded and then I whispered: "Why don't you go run to your daddy, huh?" I smiled, showing it was okay for him to.

He ran past me and hugged Fang's legs. He looked up at him with puppy eyes and his lower lip was jutting out in a pout. I recognized that look as the pick-me-up look. I chuckled. Fang did a small smile to Milo and picked him up, resting him on his hip and holding him close.

"Aw, Fang. You're a natural." I commented. "Anyone got a camera?" I laughed and soon, others joined me.

Milo held up one hand and spoke: "No comment." Fang chuckled and high-fived Milo when he held his hand to him.

We all chuckled and giggled at that and I clapped my hands together once. "Everyone, time for bed. It's late; we'll talk tomorrow."

Fang put Milo on the ground and helped everyone set up a little camping area. I went over to Milo and Mandy. I knelt on the ground and held my arms out wide.

"Milo…," I smiled at him.

He smiled back and ran into my arms and squeezed me as hard as he could with his five year old strength.

"Mommy," He whispered into my shoulder. He pulled his head away. "Why can't I say you're my mommy?"

I sighed and let him go. I grabbed his hands as I had done earlier. "Because, sweetie, you look more like Fang and everyone would find out we'd be together in the future. I won't explain what would happen because it'd be too much to handle. I don't want you to get a headache." I did a small smile and kissed his forehead.

"Will you carry him, Mom?" Mandy asked seriously. "In our time, he hasn't been held in a long time."

I laughed and scooped Milo up into my arms. "Of course I'll carry him!" I held him like a surfboard. He was squealing and laughing.

"Not like that! Not like that!" He squealed at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How about this?" I asked playfully. I pulled him up and held him like someone would a boom box; on the shoulder. He giggled some more.

Everyone looked over at me from the fire they had built and I could see Fang smiling at the sight in front of him. Mandy jogged past and stood by Angel and Nudge.

"Max? Try not to drop him. I wouldn't want you to send him t the hospital." Fang smirked at me.

"Hey! You've dropped me more than her!" Milo said as I was hanging him upside down by his ankles.

Everyone looked at Fang incredulously except for Mandy, Milo, and me.

I scoffed. "You're lucky I was there all the times you did; I saved him with my telekinesis."

Fang did something really un-Fang-like; he stuck his tongue out at me. Milo was doing a handstand with me holding his ankles to keep him up and I used my telekinesis to pull him upright and into my arms. Milo giggled and copied my power and lifted Fang into the air.

Fang crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. To me, he looked surprised.

"He can copy and increase powers." I stated to everyone. They all nodded their agreement. Milo yawned and shook his head to stay awake. "Why don't you put your daddy down so you can get some sleep? Hmm?"

He nodded and put Fang down. Milo nestled into me and put his head into the crook of my neck. He soon dozed off. I stood next to Mandy and brushed her hair back behind her ears with my fingers of my free hand.

Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy fell asleep near the fire and Iggy and Mandy soon fell asleep farther away from it in spots for watch duty. And as far away from each other as possible. Fang just watched me from his spot against a tree with his arms folded together in front of his chest. I was still holding the sleeping body of Milo.

I finally couldn't feel my hip and gently set Milo down near Angel and Nudge and they instinctively moved closer to him to protect him. I walked away from that sight no matter how cute it was and sat against a tree away from Fang. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Boo," I heard him say a lot closer to me. I opened one of my eyes and saw him right next to me, leaning in really close. I opened my other eye and laughed.

"Nice try. I saw you teleport."

He looked confused. "Your eyes were closed, though."

I tapped my forehead. "Psychic." I smiled again.

He sighed and sat next to me; really, really close too. "Milo's a cute kid."

"I know," I said wistfully. "I can tell his looks came from his mom, though." I turned to him and smiled. He frowned. "Oh come on! You know I'm joking!"

He punched my shoulder lightly and faced away. I tried to get him to look at me but he still didn't look at my face.

"I was going to tell you who the mother was but… now I don't think I will." I turned my head the other way and he took the bait.

He reluctantly turned his head toward me with a grimace on his face; I kept my head looking forward. "Who is it?"

I shook my head with a tight smile upon my face.

"Ma-ax," He said my name in a sing-song voice.

I looked at him and shrugged. "I actually don't know. I'm trying to look into the future but I can't." I shrugged again. "Sorry."

He huffed and continued to stare at me. "I know you know who the mother is."

I looked into his eyes. "Even if I did, Fang, it may not happen. If I tell you and you don't like the mother that way, Milo won't be born." And neither will Mandy... A breeze came and it was chilly. I shivered for a second and rubbed my hands up and down my arms.

I felt an arm go around me and I looked at Fang; he had put his arm around my shoulder and now he was pulling my closer to him to keep me warm. I raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned sheepishly.

"You looked cold." he said.

"I wasn't kvetching." I admitted.

He looked at me confused and opened his mouth to say something. I interrupted him:

"It means complaining." I smiled and he rolled his eyes. Another breeze came and he shivered. "Oh, look whose cold now." I smirked.

He grimaced. "Ha-ha," I smiled again and noticed how close we were. His eyes were suddenly bright and he was excited. "I want to try something."

I was wary and my eyebrows drew down. "What?"

He smiled making my whole world brighter and tightened his grip on me. Then, all of a sudden, we were on the other side of the campsite near Iggy and then we were back where we started. He had taken me with him as he teleported. We sort of landed a bit above the ground coming back so we bounced, landing. He chuckled.

"That was weird. How can you get used to that?" I asked laughing.  
He shrugged and didn't remove his arm. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at Milo and Mandy.

"Mandy is _definitely _your daughter. Her attitude is exactly the same." He muttered.

"Milo is a sweet kid. I'm guessing he inherited the sweet side of you." I smiled a little smile at him.

He smiled his small rare smile back. My smile faded slowly as I looked from Fang's eyes to his lips and back. What?! I'm a teenage girl with her hormones kicking in; I can't help it! He raised his right eyebrow.

I started leaning forward carefully and slowly as a little warning. He leaned in a bit too.

We were less than two inches apart…


	14. Chapt 14: Incompetent and Kidnapped

**Chapter 14:**

_I started leaning forward carefully and slowly as a little warning. He leaned in a bit too._

_We were less than two inches apart…_

I sort of froze and stiffened. Fang did too on instinct. I could sort of see him staring at my eyes with concern and understanding. I was having a vision. I snapped out of it instantly and I sighed.

"What?" he asked.

I looked at him and stood up. I nodded my head toward Milo and then he started shifting like crazy in his sleep. Then he was crying. "That's what…,"

Fang got up and made his way to Milo. He woke him up and held him close as he stood up. Milo was set against Fang's hip and was sniffling into Fang's shoulder. I smiled at the sight of Fang bouncing slightly, trying to calm Milo down. He walked over to me.

"I don't…" he couldn't finish his sentence.

I smiled and nodded. I opened my arms and motioned him to hand over Milo. He complied. I set Milo on my hip and wiped his tears with my fingers. "Hey, kiddo," I murmured. "Would you mind saying what you dreamt of?"

Milo rubbed his little fists against his eyes and stared at me. "I dreamt about my family being taken from me." The tears started to form once again and he rested his head on my shoulder and silently cried. I rubbed his back.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word," I started to sing. "Max's gonna buy you a mocking bird. If that mocking bird don't sing, Max's gonna buy you a diamond ring." I started to rock back and forth and Fang stared at me with an eyebrow raised. "If that diamond ring turns brass, Max's gonna buy you a looking glass. If that looking glass should crack, Max's gonna buy you a jumping jack. If that jumping jack won't hop, Max's gonna buy you a brand new pup," I gently poked Milo's nose when I said 'pup' making him smile. "If that brand new pup," I tapped his nose again. "Should run away, I buy you another one right away. Hush, little baby, don't you cry. Max's gonna sing you a lullaby." Milo was fast asleep in my arms.

I walked over to where Milo had been sleeping before and set him down and then walked back over to Fang once more.

"What was that?" Fang asked quietly.

I shrugged. "Every little kid calms down when they hear a familiar lullaby. Milo especially."

"Why do you know more about my kid than I do?" He crossed his arms; he was angry.

I tapped my forehead. "Because I have a connection to the future where he's from and you know now so…what's the big deal?" I shrugged and walked past him.

He grabbed my arm near my elbow. "The big deal is, is that I feel incompetent. I feel like I can't take care of my own kid. You don't know how that feels but it feels terrible. We all can't be the amazing Maximum Ride, you know." His voice was cold and the last sentence was heavily dosed with sarcasm.

I blinked a couple of times. "You're going to be an amazing father, Fang." I ripped my arm out of his grasp and walked away into the woods. He's never talked to me like that.

I walked far enough away where the Flock couldn't see or hear me. I sat down on the dirt floor and ran my fingers through the dirt. I didn't want Fang to be mad at me for something Jeb had done; he gave me my power way too early. A song popped into my head. I started humming and I wrote down the notes. I started to sing it out loud. It was called Start All Over (**Originally by Miley Cyrus**) and it was about starting the day, a friendship, anything really, over again and changing it.

_I have to wonder if this wave's too big to ride  
Commit or not commit in such a crazy tide  
It's sooner than I thought but you called me out  
I've lost control and there's no doubt  
I'm gonna start all over_

Out of the fire and into the fire again  
You make me want to forget  
And start all over  
Here it comes straight out of my mind or worse  
Another chance to get burned  
And start all over  
I'm gonna start all over

Fantastic and romantic all a big surprise  
You've got the warning hesitation pushed aside  
It's sooner than I want but you caught my heart  
I guess I'm ready now to start  
I'm gonna start all over

_[CHORUS]___

_[x3]__  
It's so easy  
You disrupt me  
Can't complain_

It's so easy  
I'm gonna start all over

_[CHORUS x2]_

I really wanted to start over with Fang with this whole experience. I didn't want to see those visions of us together; I didn't want to know how to take care of his children and keeping him out of the blue. I wanted everything to be right again.

I heard a twig snap and I acted like I ignored it. I looked into the future to see who it was and I couldn't see. That was odd. There was a _click _that I recognized to be the safety on a gun turning off. I didn't react in time. Someone, somewhere around me, shot me with a tranquilizer dart. I started to go numb but I could still speak. I screamed my alarm and warning to the Flock but it was cut short with duct tape covering my mouth and rope being tied around my wrists and ankles. A man walked out of the woods into the second little clearing I was in and I saw who it was; Dr. Theodore. He had survived the explosion. I tried to scream again but I was electrocuted or something and I blacked out.

**Fang POV:**

I had just yelled at Max in a way I have never done before. I didn't feel capable taking care of my future son when she took over. I was about to follow her when I heard her scream and it was cut short. The Flock, Mandy, and Milo woke up and ran toward the sound. Milo didn't even look scared. We all rushed and I yelled to them all:

"I'm going ahead!"

They all nodded and I teleported to where we heard Max's scream come from. I arrived and there was nothing there except a piece f paper on the ground with Max's handwriting engraved in the dirt; it was a song. I sighed and picked the paper up as the Flock and Mandy and Milo arrived. I froze reading it to myself.

"Fang? What's wrong?" Nudge walked over to me and I cleared my throat.

"'We have Maximum Ride.'" I read aloud. "'There's no way you'll find us. She was a mistake to lose. If you do find her, she'll kill you all. Best not to try. My wishes come true, Dr. Theodore.'" I crumpled the paper and looked at everyone. "How in _hell _did that guy survive the explosion?!"

Mandy was trying not to show she was crying by putting her hand over her mouth and Milo was crying openly. I bent down and opened my arms for him. He ran over and cried into my shoulder. I picked him up and held him against my side. Nudge and Angel were sniffling and Gazzy was trying to be the little trooper Max called him. Iggy was extra pale and listening to his surroundings.

Mandy stood up straight and unfurled her wings, tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't even jump, she just shot into the air like a speeding bullet. I looked at the spot where she had been standing and then at the air where she had flown and was hovering way above. "Well, she definitely inherited Max's speed." I mumbled. Milo squirmed out of my arms and flew up to Mandy. I looked at the Flock and they were staring at me expectantly. "U and A."

We all jumped up and flew to where Mandy and Milo were. "Don't worry," I told them. "We'll get her back."

With that, we all turned toward Iggy. "Iggy, can you hear anything that could lead us to them?" Angel asked.

He shook his head with a pained expression on his face. "No. No, I can't- I'm sorry."

"Angel, listen for Dr. Theodore's mind- or Max's." I instructed.

She nodded and took a look of great concentration. "They went East for twenty miles and then North for about two. I don't know exactly where they are though." She answered after a second.

"They left that fast? But she just screamed." Gazzy pointed out.

Angel shrugged, her eyebrows going up in sadness and worry. "That's what I heard. Maybe the bad guys are getting faster at escaping."

"Let's go. Mandy, Milo- are you guys sure you want to go?" I asked.

They nodded determinedly. "We're going. I have to save Mom!" Mandy said.

We left in the direction Angel had said.

Max, we're coming for you.


	15. Chapt 15: Rescue, Dad?

_**Fang POV:**_

_We've been flying for days and still have far to go._

"_How in the world were the bad guys able to escape so quickly?" I asked Angel._

_We decided to land for rest and food and the Flock, plus Milo and Mandy, were eating around a campfire._

_Angel shrugged shoving some fries in her mouth. We had gone to a McDonald's. "I don't know for sure, Fang. But I'm guessing that maybe they got experiments to help them and they have special powers like us only theirs is speed."_

_I turned toward Milo and he was still crying silently. Mandy didn't move an inch and she was staring at the fire with somewhat wide eyes and a blank expression. She didn't eat and she, creepily, didn't blink._

_I shook her shoulder gently. "Mandy, are you alright?"_

_She started to shake like she was crying and then she closed her eyes, angling her head to the ground. "Dio condannare esso!" she put her hands in her head and started to sob. "Condannare esso! Condannare esso! Condannare esso!" What was she saying?_

"_What?" I asked confused._

_She shook her head, hands still clutching at it. She sniffled. "It means 'God damn it' in Italian. I heard Mom say it once and I looked it up."_

"_Hmm, well, then I know Max and knowing Max… I'd say you're grounded for swearing." I tried to make her smile._

_She looked up at me and smirked. "You say that a lot in the future. You always catch me swearing when she isn't around." She smiled slightly and drew her knees up to her chest. "I just…" She took in a deep breath. "I can't believe they took her."_

"_At least we know they didn't hurt her." Nudge pointed out._

"_Oh yeah? How do we know that for certain?" Iggy interjected._

"_If she was hurt or dead, Mandy would've known. She would have felt it. If Max was dead, Mandy would be gone…forever. If Max is hurt, Mandy would be in a different state because it would damage Max. To put it simply…Max gets hurt, Mandy's the first to know."_

_I looked around at everyone's tear streaked face. I didn't need Angel's gift to know what they were thinking. They all wanted Max back as much as I do._

_You really love her, Fang…_

_Angel, get out. My mind is my private space._

_Sorry, but your thoughts are too loud to ignore sometime._

_They're too loud or are you too nosy?_

She mentally giggled. _At least your still thinking the same- Oh my gosh! I hear them!_

I stood up and faced Angel. "What are they thinking, Angel?"

"They won't hurt Max," I sighed in relief but she continued. "If she does what they want."

We all stared at her.

**Max POV:**

My head was killing me and I sat up groaning while clutching my skull. Then, I remembered what had happened. I gasped and stood.

I was in a small white room with absolutely no windows and no easy open doors. There was a wall length mirror to my right and it was probably one way. I faced it and noticed in the background that there was indeed a door- and there were no visible cameras. I looked at the ceiling and the only vent was a very small one that even Total wouldn't be able to fit in. Damn it!

I heard air hiss very loudly and I turned around to the source. The door was open with Dr. Theodore standing in it.

"I see you had a pleasant sleep, Maximum." He said casually as if we were discussing the weather.

"What do you want? How did you survive the explosion?" I spat at him.

"It was easy. The explosion only killed those inside the building and around it; I took a tunnel and escaped just in time. You're back at our backup facility where we hold most experiments. And I want you,"

That kind of creeped me out- the last part. "Huh?"

"As long as you do as I say, you won't get hurt."

"No," I sat down.

He looked slightly disconcerted but he didn't budge. "You will do as I say,"

I stood suddenly and looked at him angrily. "Or what?"

"Or I hurt the Flock." He stated.

"What are you talking about?"

"My crew and I," He started to pace around the room but by the door. "Have put trackers on all of the Flock members including the ones that travel with you. The trackers let us know where they are and they also give us the ability to kill them in a second with shocking them. Now if you disobey me, all of them will die."

"You have _got _to be kidding me. How do I believe you? There's no proof." I crossed my arms.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Would you rather risk it?"

He got me there. I sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

"I have arranged a press meeting and I want you to say you are an angel. Our company will be funded for finding and taking care of a real angel, therefore, we will get more money for experiments, tools, and animals to cross DNA."

"Do you think this plan is foolproof?" I asked snidely.

"It will be since you won't dare risk the lives of your loved ones." He retorted.

I huffed. "When's the meeting?" I looked at my right just so I wouldn't have to stare at his ugly face any longer.

"Tonight." He started walking toward the door.

"Wait…," He turned around with a bored expression on his face. "How'd you know where I live?"

He suddenly smiled. "We have insiders and she told me where. Plus, it was easy to track you. She really helped."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I guess you don't know," He smirked. "You were being rather careless and she implanted a tracking device while you weren't paying any mind." He spun on his heel and left. The door shut with a hiss.

All the while as I was cooped up in the God forsaken place, they brought me food- well, more like goop- and fresh clothes that were too big for me.

The time finally came for the press meeting so they tied my hands together and shoved me into a van. It didn't take long to reach our destination and they hauled me out of the van and shoved me to the ground. I stared up at the man who did so. I growled and he backed away; coward….

I was brought up to my feet and Theodore- the putz- hooked up a shock collar that looked like a chain necklace.

"We don't want you behaving badly, now do we?" He said as he cut the ropes around my hands. He grabbed me by the upper arm and dragged me backstage. He let go. "Wait here," He walked up on the stage and to the podium. He was thanking everyone for coming and he was announcing me.

I suddenly got an idea. There was a lot of dirt on the ground; I lay down and rolled in it and my clothes were dirty afterward. I picked some up in my hands and gently rubbed it into my face so I looked unhealthy and completely unclean and neglected.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, here it is, our angel…," Dr. Theodore came over, still looking at the crowd of reporters and grabbed me by the arm. He pulled me over to the podium. He finally looked at me and he looked furious.

I looked at all the reporters and stood straight. I pulled my wings into my back inch by inch so it wasn't noticeable.

It was quiet for a minute. Hopefully, someone would ask the right question and I could answer with a quote from the movie _MICHAEL_ with John Travolta.

"Are you really an angel?" One reporter asked.

"Yes, indeed I am." I answered.

"Can you fly?" Another asked. People were starting to get anxious and excited.

I shifted my weight from my left foot, to my right so I was standing sort of intimidating. "I'm not that kind of angel."

"Do you have wings?"

"I'm not that kind of angel,"

Dr. Theodore was laughing nervously. "Of course she has wings. We wouldn't have sheltered her if we didn't."

"Sheltered? You did not shelter me!" I yelled at him. Time for the show to begin. "You invaded my home, attacked my family, kidnapped me, threatened to kill my family if I didn't do this shit charade, and you put a shock collar on me! Ladies and Gentlemen," I turned toward the crowd. "This man is working for an organization that takes babies from their families at birth and experiment on them, causing almost all of them to die instantly! They do realize what they are doing and they don't care! I've seen it all! They are in association with Itex!"

Almost all the reporters gasped. Everyone knew what Itex had tried to do. They were all eagerly awaiting more about this subject.

"I am not an angel, I am not an experiment, I am a celebrity, damn it! I am Lapis Lazuli from Saviors of the World and he kidnapped me and tried to kill my family and I."

"Why, you little-!" Dr. Theodore pulled out a small box with a button and pressed it. My shock collar activated and it didn't even hurt that much… I clawed at my neck, screamed bloody murder, and fell to the ground screaming and crying.

There were police officers there too and they grabbed Theodore and some helped get the necklace off of me. I gasped as soon as it was off as if they saved my life. That thing didn't hurt one bit.

I stood up shakily and the officer helped me stand.

"Wait," I told the officer holding Theodore. He was walking away from me and he turned toward me. I pointed to Theodore. "That man…thought it would be funny to get someone to plant a tracker in me somewhere so he'd know where I was at all times. Granted he's an idiot…but a murderer as well. He thought that since my father- Jeb Betchelder- betrayed his company and helped me, it would be just dandy to shoot him…in front of me, 2 other 14-15 year olds, 2 12 year olds, 1 10 year old, and one 7 year old. Not to mention… my mother. That man should not be let out of jail- not even have a chance to get out!"

This story was live everywhere in the state and I'm guessing people would start to post this and other stations would play this as well.

**Fang POV:**

Angel had told us earlier that the people who took Max wanted her to do something huge, we were back to flying to her rescue. Our wings were hurting so we decided to walk a bit. I don't know why but Angel had told us Max would be fine for now.

"I'm not that kind of angel," I heard Max say.

I stopped walking as did everyone else. We all looked at each other and looked into the window of a store with TVs in it. There was Max; she was at a podium yelling at Dr. Theodore and making a big scene.

"Guys!" Gazzy yelled. "I know where that is! Follow me!" He started running East and we followed. We ended up in a park with a set up stage and Max was screaming bloody murder and crying. She was on the floor of the stage and she was clawing at her neck. Officers grabbed Dr. Theodore.

An officer helped Max up and she spoke into the microphone at the podium. "Wait," She said. The officer dragging Theodore away stopped walking and turned toward her. She pointed at Theodore. "That man…thought it would be funny to get someone to plant a tracker in me somewhere so he'd know where I was at all times. Granted he's an idiot…but a murderer as well. He thought that since my father- Jeb Betchelder- betrayed his company and helped me, it would be just dandy to shoot him…in front of me, 2 other 14-15 year olds, 2 12 year olds, 1 10 year old, and one 7 year old. Not to mention… my mother. That man should not be let out of jail- not even have a chance to get out!"

All the reporters started following the officer with Dr. Theodore toward the police cars and we all ran toward Max. We waited a moment because she was speaking to an officer.

"Ma'am, are you speaking the truth?" He asked her seriously.

"Yes, yes, I am. Give me a pen and paper and I'll write down the place's address." The officer did as she instructed and she wrote it down and handed it back. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking…what do you like most about your job?"

He thought a moment. "Mostly it's catching the bad guy. By the way, you did some really well acting. I saw you pull your wings in."

Max went pale. "What are you talking about? I don't have wings," She lied casually.

"Yes, you do. And so do they," He pointed to Me, Nudge, Angel, Iggy, and Gazzy. "I don't know about the other two but they definitely do."

"Why would you think that?" Max asked as we all stepped closer.

"Because I'm an experiment as well and last year you helped me bail out of Itex." He responded.

Max crossed her arms. "Prove it."

He stood up and pulled up his long sleeves. "I'm part duck." His hands were webbed and his skin looked feathery and yellow. "I have to go; the press is having a field day," He ran over to the crowd.

Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy ran over to Max and hugged her. "Oh my gosh!" I heard her whisper. She kissed the crown of all of their heads.

They all broke apart and Max walked over to Iggy. "Iggy, do you have any bombs with you?"

Iggy smirked and bounced up and down on his toes ever so slightly. "You know it. But are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

She nodded and said: "Yes,"

They hugged and I smiled. This is one of those times where Max shows she cares and she was afraid for all of our lives. She let go of Iggy and came over to me.

"Fang," She said.

I raised an eyebrow. I was never one for mushy feelings.

"I know it's been only like one day or so-"

"Max, it's been like a week." Gazzy said.

Max held the back of her head with her hand. "They must've put me under for a long time. They tazored me when they captured me. Anyway," She put her hand back down. "Fang, I am really grateful that you were able to keep things under control and that you all came looking for me." She smiled a small smile at me.

I saw that she was going to say something else but Milo attached himself to her shin. He looked up at her with the pick-me-up pout. She bent down to his level, hugged him, and picked him up, resting him on her hip. Mandy smiled and ran to Max, holding her waist and being careful not to crush either Max or Milo.

"Let's get out of here before the press sees us," Max said looking in the direction of the police cars.

We all ran to the forest-y area outside of the park and we flew off easily and quickly and no one saw us. We landed right outside the city a while later and everyone relaxed.

**MAX POV:**

"Fang, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked him quietly.

He nodded and stood up. We walked a little away from the Flock but we could still see them.

"I found out I have a tracker in me," I looked into his eyes as I said this. "Theodore said it happened when I was being careless and she- the spy- put it in me without my knowing. When have I been off guard?"

"The only time I can think of when you were being careless was at one of your photo shoots, and Maurice gave you a tattoo because you were sleeping."

We looked at each other and it dawned on us. "It makes sense. That's how they could have gotten close to me. She knew where we lived, knew where we hung out… why couldn't it be her? But…how am I…?" I trailed off.

Fang pursed his lips and put an arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry; we'll think of something. Maybe your mom could think of something,"

I nodded and hugged him around the waist. "Thanks for taking care of the Flock and Milo and Mandy. I know it's a lot of work."

"Max, without you, the Flock falls apart; they were crying the entire time you were gone." He responded next to my ear.

My stomach growled and Fang chuckled. I pulled away and smacked his shoulder. "Oh shut up. I haven't eaten in a week. Maybe more," Fang pulled me along back to the Flock and he left his arm around my shoulder and I left mine at his waist; don't know why but for some reason…we didn't even notice.

We walked over to the Flock and they all 'ooh'ed at us since we apparently looked like a couple. We broke apart and I think Fang actually blushed a bit. We sat down and someone handed me bread.

"We need to blow up the remaining School building, Mom. You need to show us where it is." Mandy said as she crammed a granola bar in her mouth.

I shook my head. "Mm… No, Mandy. The police are dealing with it. I told Officer Dillinger that he needed to not only shut it down…but he also needed to blow the place up so no remaining scientists reuse that place. And so kids don't stumble upon their stuff." I ripped a piece of the bread off and popped it into my mouth.

Mandy sighed. I put more bread in my mouth. "Dad, what do you think?" AS soon as the word 'dad' came out, she went wide-eyed. And everyone knew who she was talking about because she was facing Fang. I started to cough and I finally stared at my future daughter in shock.

**There you go…Chapter 15. Whala! Hope you liked it. I think this story will be done after about five, six, or eight more chapters. I'm not sure, it depends on how smoothly it runs. Hope you liked it! Please, review!**


	16. Chapt 16: Dad? Weak Spot

**Disclaimer: I do not own M.R. JP does. I'm not doing anymore disclaimers; you should all know that I don't own M.R. by now ;)**

Mandy sighed. I put more bread in my mouth. "Dad, what do you think?" AS soon as the word 'dad' came out, she went wide-eyed. And everyone knew who she was talking about because she was facing Fang. I started to cough and I finally stared at my future daughter in shock.

"_What did you just say?" Fang asked with wide eyes._

"_Mad!" I yelled trying to distract them and pray none of them would be suspicious. "She was saying she was mad and asked your opinion on the matter. She has trouble with…syllables. And- and words." I pressed my lips together._

"_She said 'dad,' Max. You know that and I know that." Fang said looking levelly at me._

"_You- you look like her father…" I tried to say without stuttering but failed completely and I laughed nervously as well. "But you're not."_

_Fang raised an eyebrow at me. "Max?" He stressed my name._

"_What?! I know who her father is!!! I mean- he- you- I- I'm telling the truth, damn it! You look like her father but you aren't!" I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed._

"_Wait…if Mandy is your kid and she called me dad…," Fang said slowly. "And she's my kid as well, then that means Milo…That means we… Aw, ew!" Fang stood up and walked off with a disgusted expression on his face._

_I sat there and looked at the ground. I took in a deep breath and stood up, walking away from the Flock in silence and away from where Fang left._

_I walked into the woods and sat on a fallen tree trunk. I put my head in my hands. Tears started to fall from my eyes._

_**FANG POV:**_

_I couldn't believe she lied to me! She could have told me that in the future we would… would…get together. And it seems as though Angel and Total and Nudge knew. Iggy and Gazzy looked as if they expected it._

_I guess it made sense for her to be Milo's mom because she knows how to handle him and knows what's best; I just thought she knew because she's practically a mom to the Flock._

_I sort of understand why she wouldn't tell me. I saw the way she looked at Milo and Mandy; she loved them already and she didn't even have them yet. She wanted them to be real and to actually have them. Now that I think about it, Milo and Mandy do look like me and Max put together._

_I saw where Max had disappeared to and went over there unseen by everyone else. I snuck into the tree near her left and watched her. I, surprisingly, felt bad about yelling at her before she was taken and stalking off earlier._

"_Mommy?" I heard Milo say. He sounded littler than he really was because his voice sounded so tiny._

_Max's head shot up and I saw she had tear streaks down her cheeks. She got off of the fallen tree trunk she was sitting on and knelt down. Milo stepped forward. "Hey, baby. What's wrong?" Max smoothed Milo's hair away from his face._

_Milo twiddled his thumbs. He looked down and frowned slightly. "It's just that… I know you love Daddy. He loves you too. I don't like seeing you fight; it brings back memories that I don't want to see anymore." Milo was crying by the time he finished talking._

_Max slowly and carefully pulled him into her embrace. She sighed. "I know, baby, I know. I don't want to open those wounds again either." Max buried her face in Milo's hair and cried silently._

"_Mom?" Mandy's voice came from under the tree I was sitting in. She stepped forward, brushing some hair behind her ear. Max looked up. "Do you want to- I mean, should I-?" She sighed and started over. "If you want me to go back to my own time then I'll understand." She glanced down at her feet and shuffled from her left to right._

"_No, no, I don't want you to. I want you both here for a little while longer. L'amo entrambi, dunque molto…" Max said with adoration. (Translation: I love you both, so very much…) I don't know what she said but the two kids smiled and Max stood up holding her arms out. Mandy stepped forward and hugged her. Max was smiling by now and she kissed Mandy and Milo on their foreheads before they left._

_Max sat back down again. "Zanna," She sighed and closed her eyes. (Translation: Fang) She dropped her head in her hands again._

_I jumped down from the branch. Twigs snapped under my feet._

_**MAX POV:**_

_I heard twigs snap and I peeked through my fingers to see Fang standing there looking at me. "What do you want?"_

_I didn't get a reply, all I got was the sound of more twigs snapping and leaves rustling. I felt Fang sit next to me and his arm went across my shoulders._

"_I'm sorry," he stated quietly._

_I dropped my hands and looked at him. "What?" I've never heard him apologize before._

"_I'm sorry I snapped at you before and I'm sorry I stormed off earlier. It was… a lot to take in." He scratched the back of his neck. "Can I ask you a question?"_

_I nodded. "Sure. As long as it's not about the future."_

"_It's not. What did you say to Milo and Mandy? You said 'L'amo entrambi, dunque molto.' What did that mean?"_

_I smiled. "I said 'I love you both, so very much.'"_

"_I heard you murmur something after they left. Zanna?"_

"_Fang,"_

"_Yeah?"_

_I laughed. "No, I said 'Fang.'"_

"_In what language?"_

"_Italian."_

"_What's your name?"_

"_Just Max."_

"_Why is your name the same in English as it is in Italian?" His eyes narrowed._

_I smirked. "Because my name is an actual name. Your name is an object."_

_He frowned. "Not funny."_

"_No, it's not. It's a fact." I smiled. "But I like your name."_

"_I should have known that Mandy and Milo were our kids. They look like us, I don't know why I didn't see before."_

_I looked sheepish and guilty. "Well…,"_

"_Well, what?" He looked wary._

"_I may have asked Angel to control your mind and not see the similarities." I snuck a peek at his face and he had one eyebrow raised. I shrugged with my lips pressed tightly together._

_He shook his head. "You're giving into her too much. Your not Max!" He smiled trying to lighten the mood._

_I chuckled and smiled. "Si, I am."_

_I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. He seemed relaxed. "I'm sorry I took care of Milo more than you."_

"_It's okay. I've noticed that mothers know more about their children than the fathers do. Don't know why, but they do. And it's your instinct to take care of younger people."_

"_You're no longer the quiet guy, Zanna. Not at all." I smiled._

"_Yeah, yeah. What's your full name in Italian?"_

"_Massimo. In Russian, it's __Макс. __But I don't speak much Russian. Why such an interest?"_

_He just shrugged and leaned into me a bit. I leaned against him again. My brows furrowed together and I started humming._

"_What are you humming?" Fang asked curiously and softly._

_I shrugged. "7 Things?" (Originally by Miley Cyrus)_

"_Are you making it up right now? I've never heard of it before."_

_I nodded and started filling in lyrics._

"_I probably shouldn't say thisBut at times I get so scaredWhen I think about the previousRelationship we shared"_

I made it up as I went along.

"_It was awesome but we lost itIt's not possible for me not to careAnd now we're standing in the rainBut nothing's ever gonna changeUntil you hear, my dear"_

I watched Fang's reaction and almost burst out laughing with the next lyrics.

"_The 7 things I hate about you!The 7 things I hate about you, oh youYou're vain, your games, you're insecureYou love me, you like herYou make me laugh, you make me cryI don't know which side to buy"_

He looked so shocked, it was comical.

"_Your friends, they're jerksWhen you act like them, just know it hurtsI wanna be with the one I knowAnd the 7th thing I hate the most that you doYou make me love you"_

I smiled at him.

"_It's awkward and silentAs I wait for you to sayWhat I need to hear nowYour sincere apology"_

It started unraveling before my eyes and Fang seemed a little confused but on track.

"_When you mean it, I'll believe itIf you text it, I'll delete itLet's be clearOh, I'm not coming backYou're taking 7 steps here"_

I bit my lip for a second and continued.

"_The 7 things I hate about you!You're vain, your games, you're insecureYou love me, you like herYou make me laugh, you make me cryI don't know which side to buyYour friends, they're jerksWhen you act like them, just know it hurtsI wanna be with the one I knowAnd the 7th thing I hate the most that you doYou make me love you"_

I kept looking at Fang the entire time I sang.

"_And compared to all the great thingsThat would take too long to writeI probably should mention the 7 that I like"_

I winked at him and he chuckled. God, this felt like a stupid musical! Me singing to a guy and the song coming from the moment, weird…

"_The 7 things I like about you!Your hair, your eyes, your old Levi'sWhen we kiss I'm hypnotizedYou make me laugh, you make me cryBut I guess that's both I'll have to buyYour hands in mineWhen we're intertwined, everything's alrightI wanna be with the one I knowAnd the 7th thing I like most that you doYou make me love you, you do_

I smiled at Fang once again and raised an eyebrow. He smirked.

"Admit it, you like singing about me," He said smugly.

I laughed. "What makes you think it's about you?" I teased.

"I don't know, maybe it's the part where you kept staring at me the entire time?" He smiled a real smile.

I sighed. "I want to go home. I miss Mom and Ella. And I want to kick Maurice's ass,"

He chuckled and pulled me close to him. "You'll get to soon enough. I still wish you would have told me, though, Max."

He changed the subject back to Milo and Mandy.

"I figured you'd freak out and I was right…you called me gross." I looked away.

He tried to get me to look at him but I wouldn't.

I gasped and everything went black a moment and then I did something I thought I'd never do; I squealed while smiling the biggest smile I've ever smiled.

"Whoa, now I'm scared." Fang said.

I just looked at him with that goofy grin on my face and I was bouncing up and down. He pushed down on my shoulders.

"Max, just tell me what happened; I'm kinda lost." He admitted trying to keep me grounded; literally.

"Ella and Iggy," I stated. He raised his eyebrow at me to continue. I took a deep breath. "Let's just say that in a couple years, Iggy will actually be my brother," I stood up and walked forward four feet before turning around back to Fang who just stood up after me. "…in-law."

Fang walked forward and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I really don't give a shit about Iggy's and Ella's relationship." He pulled me closer to him and then he grinned mischievously.

I recognized that grin. "No, Fang, do-" I was cut off by the feeling of teleportation taking effect. We ended up back at the clearing with the Flock. "-n't! Oh, I hate you!" My sentence was finished when we were standing in front of everyone, him holding me close to his chest around the waist. "Please, let go." I said calmly, looking at his chest and not at his eyes. I could see his chest muscles through his shirt and I could feel them against me! It was uncomfortable; especially in front of my family.

"So, Max," Iggy started. "We heard you squeal- you were really loud. Did Fang make you _that _happy?"

I blushed and glared at him. He just laughed because he didn't see my reaction.

"Iggy, don't mess with a psychic and a telekinetic." I stated with anger in my voice. "And by the way, I squealed because I saw something in _your _future- you looked pretty happy to me." I rubbed in the fact that he had no idea what I was talking about.

He frowned. "Tell me," He stood up.

I acted like I was thinking. "Mm, no. I won't."

"Max," He whined.

We all laughed and I turned toward Fang.

"_Please, _let go?"

He shook his head with a grin on his face. I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm giving you the same warning I gave Iggy."

"Aw, come on. You wouldn't hurt me." He said smugly.

"Actually, Dad," Mandy said. "She has." She started laughing but then controlled it.

I took a peak into the future and buried my face in his chest to keep from laughing like a maniac. My shoulders shook with the silent laughter. Angel had showed everyone mentally what I meant and they were laughing as well- except Fang.

"Must you always keep me clueless?" He asked exasperated.

"Max, can I show him?" Angel asked after she calmed down a bit.

I didn't say anything for fear of laughing so hard, I couldn't breathe. I nodded my head which was still against Fang's chest.

_In my vision, I had been sparring with Fang and he had pinned me down. This was about three years later than now. I couldn't get up and he had been smirking and laughing at me._

_I glared at him and then I leaned my head up to his with a softer expression on my face. Our lips were less than an inch apart and I could hear and feel his heartbeat go into overtime. Our lips touched softly and he let go of one of my wrists to put it behind my neck to hold me up right. I slowly rolled us over until I was on top and I broke the kiss and pinned him down. He had glared at me. I smirked and laughed. "You're such a sucker for a kiss," I had stated. He just huffed, disappointed that the kiss was shorter than he had wanted._

In the present, I was laughing all over again. Fang had gone rigid with embarrassment and anger. He didn't want anyone to know if that was actually going to happen. I lifted my head and looked at him. His lips were pressed together and he was looking in the other direction from the Flock. I smiled at him.

"Oh come on. It's funny," I said to him.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "It is? It seems embarrassing to me. Having everyone see that and laugh at me. Yeah, that's comforting…," His voice had a small dose of steel in it.

"We weren't laughing at you; we were laughing at the situation." I said. He looked away again. "Zanna," I sang his name in Italian. He looked at me once more, softer than before. "I'm sorry." I started leaning forward and upward slowly. My arms went around his neck. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. Forgive me?" I was really close to his face and I almost smirked when I felt his heart beat a lot faster than it had been beating a while ago. I pressed my lips to his softly and gently. I pulled away and looked at him. Everyone was quiet, watching us.

"Fine," He said curtly but he had a half-smile on his face.

I tired not to laugh but only half-succeeded. "You're a sucker for a kiss," I buried my head in his chest again as everyone laughed again.

All of a sudden, the laughter seemed distant. I raised my head and looked around. Fang and I were at the fallen tree trunk we had been at before. He had teleported. I looked at Fang.

"Couldn't take the laughter?"

He stared at me.

"I'm sorry I laughed! But…you had to see it coming. I kiss you and you give in, you are a sucker for a kiss." I smiled angelically and apologetically at him.

"What makes you think you aren't?" He said leaning forward.

"Because I don't give in because of a messily kiss," I answered. I leaned forward and then stopped. I rocked back on my heel as much as I could, being barricaded by Fang's arms. "I just thought of something. Why don't you just teleport everyone home?"

Fang looked like he was deep in thought. He finally answered, though. "Because Milo and Mandy can't be seen by anyone else and I'd like to spend more time with them as much as you and everyone else. Sooner or later, they'll have to go back to the future. They belong in their time."

I sighed and groaned, burying my head in Fang's chest again. "I don't want them to leave; I love them too much." My voice was muffled by Fang's chest.

He laughed quietly and stroked my hair. "I will too- everyone will. But on the plus side, we'll all see them in the future."

I stiffened. Just the thought made me giddy and disgusted. I thought about what we would have to do to create my children- I was disgusted by that- and I thought of actually having my babies and taking care of them- I was ecstatic about that. I moved my head to the side and kept it resting on Fang. I relaxed.

"Why'd you stiffen?" He asked.

"I couldn't breathe." I lied casually. I was surprised that he bought it.

"I want to do an experiment." Fang told me. I looked at him full on warily. "I want to see if you could be persuaded by a simple kiss."

I smirked. "You can try but you won't succeed." I sang.

He raised an eyebrow as a challenge. "I want you to sing a very mushy love song about me."

I shook my head. "No,"

He leaned forward and kissed me tenderly but fiercely at the same time. I kissed back but I was laughing on the inside. He pulled away and I smiled and shook my head. He kissed me again and the same results happened. He kept kissing me, determined to have me give in and every time he did kiss me, it got rougher and rougher and more passionate. He pulled away one last time and we were breathing heavily.

"Now will you?" He asked breathless.

"Mm," I said content against him. "I'm sorry. No, I can't." Fang leaned in for another kiss but I pulled my head back. "Fang, I really have to feel that emotion to write it down. If I don't feel it, I can't write it. Plus, I just wrote you a song."

"Fine," I laughed at his answer- he gave in when he tried to make me give in. "Shut up," He mumbled but he was smiling.

My arms were still around his neck and his were still around my waist holding me extremely close. I leaned toward him and kissed him and he kissed me back.

"I'm not…doing…anything…Max…" He said each thing in between kisses.

"Don't…worry…I don't…need…anything…" I did the same after he spoke.

To give me and him air, he made his way to kissing my cheek. He moved from there to my jaw line and down to my neck. He trailed little kisses up and down and at one point he nibbled at one spot. I gasped at the sensation. He froze and moved his head up to look at me. He looked triumphant and pleased.

"I found your weakness." He was amused.

"No, you didn't." I said unconvincingly.

He smiled a big smile and I blushed. His smile widened- if that was possible- at realizing he had something on me.

"We should get back," I tried to get out of his grasp but it didn't work, he only tightened his hold on me.

"Max," He sang my name.

"Zanna," I said sternly. He merely shrugged. "You're squeezing me too hard," He loosened his grip and I tried to escape…with no avail. I glared at Fang. "Okay, when did you get this strong?"

He shrugged again. "I've always been this strong. Why?"

"'Cause normally I would've beaten your ass by now." I grumbled.

He laughed. "We should get back to everyone else by now,"

"So you'll let-" We teleported back to everyone. "-me go. You're going to become out of shape if you keep teleporting like this." I whisper-yelled. Everyone was asleep except for Iggy. "Iggy, you can sleep now, we're here."

Iggy nodded and laid down and closed his eyes.

Fang still didn't let me go. I stared at him pointedly. He smirked and I saw what he was going to do. He leaned his head forward and slightly downward, aiming for my neck. I moved my head and caught his lips. His grip loosened in surprise and I backed away with a triumphant grin. I was free! No more standing in Fang's arms.

"Yeah, don't get used to it," He said dryly. "You'll be back in my arms soon enough." He smirked.

I shook my head with a smile on my face. "No, I won't." I teased. I turned and looking at him still, I said: "Buona notte, l'amore." I turned my head and was immediately greeted by Fang standing in front of me. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, mimicking how he stood.

"What did you say?" He asked curiously.

"I said, 'Good night, Fang.'"

"No, you didn't. you didn't say my name in Italian and that was Italian. What did you say?"

"All I said was good night! That's all!" I slightly laughed about how he was making a big deal out of this. I started to walk around him but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back into his hold with my back facing him.

"Won't you tell me?" He breathed.

"It's not important." I sang out. He was holding my arms down too so I couldn't struggle. I saw it one second before it happened; he kissed my neck. I held in a gasp and I almost whimpered; key word 'almost.'

"How 'bout now?" He whispered against my skin.

I was losing my train of thought. "No,"

He did many slow kisses up and down my neck. "And now?"

My eyes fluttered closed for a second and then I popped them open and stiffened. "Fang, stop." To me, my voice was harsh.

"Why? You know you like it when I do that." He sounded so smug.

"Fang, I warned you." I used telekinesis and shoved him off of me and made sure he didn't get hurt. I walked away. "I need to think." I unfurled my wings and took off straight into the air, just going all the way up.

Truth is, I didn't need to think. I just wanted to be able to think at all. I hated how he had control over me like that! I didn't like being controlled. It made me feel weak; hence the name 'weak spot.' I sighed and flipped over so I was hovering with my back facing down. My wings were tucked in and I was using my gift to hold me in the air. I covered my eyes with my hands and groaned. I was so confused. I knew I loved Fang, and I always will. But when he does that, he doesn't seem like himself. I feel like he wants to be in control of me. I don't like that at all. My eyes were closed and covered and I soon heard wings beating. I turned upright and opened my wings and started flapping them. Fang was coming to me.

"Max, are you okay?" he asked once he was by my side.

I nodded. "I said, 'Good night, love.'" With that, I pulled my wings in and dropped like a rock to the earth below me. I angled myself so I was doing a nosedive and I concentrated on how close the ground was getting. I wanted to try something new. Fang had already teleported to the ground and was watching me carefully and warily.

At the last minute, a second before I would have hit the ground, I snapped my wings open and I stopped immediately, hovering above the rocky, mossy, grassy earth only a foot away from my face. The whole time, I had my arms crossed and I was completely calm. Fang ran over with his eyes wide.

"Why'd you do that?! You could have gotten yourself killed." He reached for my hand and helped me up. I kept my wings open but I let them hang at my sides to cool off.

"I was fine. I had a force field up anyway. So, no, I wouldn't have died." I shrugged and walked over to bank the fire. Fang followed.

"Force field? I thought you did telekinesis."

I nodded. "Mm-hmm, They're practically the same thing. You build up your telekinetic energy and it creates a giant mass of…whatever…and it becomes a safety shield." I sat down and Fang sat really close next to me.

He was silent.

"Fang," I started. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Just because you know we're getting married, doesn't mean you can act like that."

"What? Protective? I'm always protective of you and the Flock. I have to be."

I shook my head. "No…I mean…How should I say it? Oh- seductive." I peered at him from the corner of my eye.

"Go on," He was confused and he didn't quite understand where I was going with this.

"It makes me feel…odd and…uncomfortable. I just…" I sighed again and ran my hand through my hair once more. A nervous habit. "I'm too young to feel that way; whatever way I felt. I can't handle it and…I just- I don't know." I hated admitting that things are too hard for me but this was Fang; even if he was the trouble, I could always confide in him. I buried my head in my hands and I felt him pull me closer to him. He rested his chin on the crown of my head.

"Okay," 'Okay': That one simple word let me know that he understood. I buried my face against his chest and he pulled me into a position where we were laying side by side with my head on his shoulder.

I fell asleep that way.

**There it is! Chapter whatever! Some people commented saying that I let a secret out too early and I wanted to let them know- in case they read this far- that I changed the summary. It's not about Max's secret anymore. It's about all this crap that's been happening. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	17. AN please, read! Important!

**Hey, everyone. I don't know why, but my damn computer is making everything underlined when I enter in a chapter. I can't change it or anything and I'm sorry if it bugs you. Apparently, there's absolutely nothing I can do. So, if anything is underlined, I'm sorry but it cannot be fixed. I think it has something to do with my new computer I have now. It didn't happen with the last computer so I'm a little confused as to why it's doing it now. Anyway, I completely apologize for the annoyingness of underlined words and, if this is underlined as well, I'm sorry. Like I stated earlier, there's nothing I can do. ****L**** Sorry, once again.**

**~~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~~**


	18. Chapt 17: Future, End of the World

I woke up and found myself half laying on the ground and half laying on Fang. My head was on his shoulder and he was holding my hand with his, resting against his chest. I was sort of on my side and one of my legs was barely overlapping his. He had his arm around my waist and his head was near mine. I felt too comfortable to move and I didn't want to wake Fang.

I was drifting back to sleep when I heard twigs snap near the trees. I immediately went on alert. I sat up, causing Fang to wake.

"Wha-?" He said drowsily. "Max, what's-" He stopped himself short when he saw I wasn't looking at him; I was looking into the forest, trying to see what was coming.

"Go wake Iggy and the others." I murmured. He nodded and did as I said.

I stood slowly. "Show yourself," I stated. I saw a black figure move. "Now!" I showed no fear.

The figure moved forward and all I saw a black mass in the shape of a human.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Gazzy and Nudge came up beside me. "Max, who are talking to?" Nudge asked in confusion.

I pointed to the mass. "That thing right there." I told them; wasn't it obvious? I looked at everyone and they all looked confused. "Wait, you really can't see it?" They all shook their heads.

I looked back at the thing and my heart nearly stopped. Of course, with Iggy's super-hearing, he heard. "Max? Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I just figured out who this guy is." I walked forward and stood right in front of it. I willed the tears to not spill over.

I punched the guy in the face and he fell to the ground. "How could you?!" I yelled at him.

The man turned visible and he stood up. He grabbed my arm and he turned into a black mass again.

"Max?! Max, where are you?" Angel was screaming. Apparently, they couldn't see the guy or me.

"I'm fine, Angel." I told her. I looked at the guy. "How could you leave me? Why would you leave me?" I yanked my arm out of his grasp and we both turned visible again. "You promised, you promised you wouldn't leave me!" Tears started to spill over. I was having an emotional overload because I was tuned into my future self's feelings and they had overridden me. I beat at the man's chest. "Zanna, lei prommeso! Lei promesso lei farebbe non congedo me!" You could hear the tears in my face. (**Translation: Fang, you promised! You promised you wouldn't leave me!)**

"I'm sorry, Massimo! Forgive me!" The man grabbed my wrists and held them in his hands gently but firmly.

I stared at him through my tears. "Fang," I sighed. "Tell me why?"

"What are you talking about, Max? Who is that guy?" Fang asked.

I turned toward my Flock. "I'm not talking to _you, _Fang. I'm talking to future Fang." I turned back to Future Fang. "Tell me why you left."

He sighed. "Max,"

"Answer me, damn it!" I shouted at him. He looked stunned.

"We had a fight and I thought you didn't love me any more."

"Bullshit. I saw the future, I know that's not it. What I don't know is why you left. Now, tell me the truth."

"Do you know what the fight was about, Max?" I shook my head. "You thought I had an affair and you told me you didn't love me anymore. You also said that if I wanted to deny it and argue, I could just leave."

My eyes widened by the slightest. "Do you have any idea how much you broke my heart? You broke me, you really broke me. We've had worse fights, you know that. I've told you I don't love you many times in those fights; why believe it that time?" My voice was strangled.

"You didn't see the way you were staring at me. It looked as though all of the love you held for me drained out of your system." He was whispering by now.

"If you didn't have an affair then why were you always home late!?" I didn't mean to shout and I heard numerous gasps from my flock behind me. Mandy and Milo were whispering to each other.

"Do you know where I worked?"

I nodded. "The law firm."

"Yes, they keep me late to work on the documents. It takes a long time. And, I have to take the train home, that takes longer."

"You could've flown home!" I struggled to get my hands back but he wouldn't budge. "Perché l'ha fatto è venuta qui?" (**Translation: Why did you come here?)**

"You got worried about Mandy and Milo. I heard you going crazy in the house and I came to you to see what was wrong. You told me and I had a hunch where the kids went. I came to bring them back. Max, what's that?" He pointed to my neck.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

He moved my hair out of the way and he froze. I felt dizzy and weak. My eyelids started to droop. "Stay strong and relax, Massimo." He stated calmly.

I collapsed and blacked out.

**PRESENT FANG POV:**

"Max!" I ran toward her right after she collapsed, as did everyone else. I bent down next to her. I turned toward my future self. "What happened?!"

"She had poison injected into her. I don't know when, though. It's spreading." He responded.

"What? I didn't see it before."

"Maybe it was while you were asleep? I don't know. This kind of poison is injected only by use of a gun. Someone must've…the trank." Comprehension dawned on him.

"What?"

"When she was taken, she was hit with a tranquilizer dart. It must've come from there and it's starting to take effect." He picked Max up in his arms bridal-style.

"What are you doing?" I asked seriously; I sounded deadly.

"Taking her somewhere that'll save her."

Max gasped in his arms and her back arched upward. "Fang!"

"What?" Both future me and I said.

Max's eyes opened and I could see the life draining from her. She stared right at me. "I lo…" She started fading.

I looked at Milo and Mandy, they were literally fading. I knew what that meant. My eyes started to water but I held the tears in. The flock was starting to openly cry.

I heard a loud boom and I looked to my left. There was this portal type thing like what Milo and Mandy traveled through except this looked deadly. I had to shout over the noise of rushing wind to be heard. Everyone's hair was blowing crazily.

"What the hell is that?" I shouted.

"The place that will save her." Future me said. He started walking toward it. I looked at Milo and Mandy and they were starting to become solid again. They both nodded and waved goodbye at me. I was confused.

"How will this-?" I was cut off by him walking through the portal. Everything went a little crazy after that.

Things started to blur and fade away. Soon, everything around us was gone and the Flock, Mandy, Milo, and I were standing in nothing but black.

"Bye, Dad. Bye, Flock." Mandy said. I looked at her and she made a small portal open. She and Milo stepped through.

I looked at everyone around me and then, they were all gone. I didn't feel like I was there.

It felt like…the end of the world.


	19. Chapt 18: Second Chance

I jolted upright with a gasp and someone yelped.

"Jees, Max! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Toby yelled at me.

Stan, Jane, Nina, Boom, and all the other crew and band members of S.O.T.W. laughed at the predicament.

I scratched my head. "What happened?" I groaned.

Nina chuckled. "You plopped down on the couch and fell asleep for a second. Toby was going to scare you but…it looks like he's the one who got scared." She plopped a grape into her mouth.

"What happened…before that?" I asked looking at them all. We were backstage somewhere.

"We just had our LIVE concert." Toby told me like it was obvious. "Hey, Max, are you okay?"

I hesitantly nodded. The Flock walked in and saw me laying on the couch.

"Since when have you been Lapis Lazuli?" Iggy asked crossing his arms over his chest in a joking manner.

My brows furrowed together. "Since the band first started. You…like the concert?"

Everyone started talking excitedly at the same time.

"Hey, Mom," I interrupted everyone. I stood up. "Can you look at something for me? Maurice gave me a tattoo while I was asleep before and she implanted a tracker. She… works for the school." I walked over to my family and they all looked stunned.

"Uh, sure, Max, of course." Mom answered. "But, later. Right now, just relax." She put a hand on my arm in a comforting manner.

I nodded and smiled. "Why don't you guys say hi to everyone else, hmm?"

They all nodded and went into another room in the backstage area. I heard a weird whooshing noise and looked to my right. A portal opened and a tall, older version of me came out.

"Hello…me." Older me said with difficulty.

"Hello. What are you doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms. "And…what happened? I remember dying and then…this happened."

Older me chuckled. "Well, I came to explain. When you die, Mandy and Milo die. If they die, the world dies. Us and our children…okay, never mind, that sounded odd. You and your children are part of the bigger picture. Since you died all too early, the world died all too early. As you can see, you have been given a second to restart your life. You know what you need to do, I can tell, because you've already started changing the future and steering it in the right direction.

"You know you love Fang and that you'll end up together. You know what the outcome will be from that. You know the Flock will be safe and happy. Angel cannot read your thoughts unless you want them to be read. I am telling you now and I'm only telling you this once," Future me warned. "Do not tell anyone about the future. You have your psychic powers and Dad is still alive. As another little warning…and tip… don't run away when Fang kisses you." She turned around to walk back into the portal but she stopped and turned to me. "Oh, by the way, the kids say hi. And I say thank you."

"For what? What did I do?"

"You saved mine and Fang's marriage. I don't know how but you did." She smiled at me and then she walked into the portal and it closed.

The door opened and in walked Fang from the other room. He closed the door behind him and came to my side.

"Hey, Max, are you alright?" His voice held some concern.

"Yeah, of course. Why?" I faced him with a smile on my face.

"Because the apocalypse must be happening; you're wearing leather." He started laughing.

I hit his shoulder. "Don't make fun of me!" I walked away from his to the changing room. He followed.

"C'mon, Max! You know I'm joking." He held his arms out in an 'I'm-giving-up' gesture.

I turned toward him. "Zanna, don't mess with me." I warned.

"Huh? What does 'Zanna' mean?" He asked.

"Fang,"

"What?"

I laughed. "Fang,"

"What?!" He started getting annoyed.

"No, it means 'Fang.'" I told him with a smile.

"Oh,"

I crossed my arms. "Boy, don't you feel stupid?" I chuckled.

"Shut up."

I winked at him and turned toward the door again. I opened it and stepped through; Fang was following.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I already knew.

He fake-pouted. "I'm lonely."

I laughed. "Wait a minute." I closed the door in his face and about ten seconds later, I walked back out wearing skinny jeans with rips in the knees, a black tank top with a flower design, and flip-flops. I opened the door and he looked stunned.

"You're fast." he commented.

I smiled and walked over to where he was sitting on the couch.

"I have something to say, Fang." I faced him.

"What?" he was wary when he heard my tone of voice.

I took a deep breath and smiled a big smile. "I got a new power." I sang out.

"If you being stubborn is a power, it's not new." He joked.

I faced away from him and stayed silent. I wanted to see how he'd react if I ignored him.

"Max," he copied my sing-song voice. I kept looking away and I tried not to smile. "What's your new power?"

I looked at him and acted sad. Then I looked away again and stifled my laughter.

"You do know I know you're faking?" His voice was impatient.

I looked at him and shrugged with a smile playing on my lips. "Whatever. I'm psychic."

"I know, that's why we're trying to get you a room at the asylum." He said while laughing. I rolled my eyes and punched his shoulder. His laughter died down. "I'm sorry. What'd you see to know you're psychic?"

"I saw what was going to happen next."

"What'd you see?"

I stood up and walked away. I opened the door to where my family was and looked back at Fang. I turned my head to the side. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Max,"

"No, no. I'm not going to tell you." I walked through the door and heard Fang say something before I closed the door:

"No, seriously, what'd you see?"

I laughed and faced my Flock.

"What's so funny, Max?" Gazzy asked me.

I shrugged. "Nothing; I just got Fang to stress out about something."

Nudge laughed. "About what?"

"Probably about the fact that Max _loves _Fang." Iggy said, smug.

"_This _much!" Ella added holding her arms wide.

I didn't say anything; I just let them make fun and let the facts sink in. I looked at all of them with a small smile on my face and an innocent expression.

Ella and Iggy were laughing together and everyone soon joined in, not even noticing the fact that I wasn't mad.

"Yeah, and Iggy and Ella love each other _this much!_" I held my arms out wider than Ella had.

They both blushed and we all laughed.

Fang walked in and noticed the laugh-fest. "What's so funny?"

"Max loves you!" Iggy yelled out in revenge.

I turned scarlet. "Iggy!"

Everyone laughed at me and at the situation. I stumbled for a moment as I accidentally peeked into the future. When I came to, Fang was supporting me.

"Max, are you okay? What happened?" He asked. Everyone was staring at me.

"I'm fine, I just…tapped into my power." I smiled and stood straight.

_Angel, Does Fang- _Angel cut my thought off with an audible giggle.

"Yep, Max! You bet!" She said out loud.

"What happened?" Ella asked confused.

I looked at Fang. "This," I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him toward me, crushing my lips to his.

He kissed back and I smiled against his mouth. My arms went around his neck and his went around my waist. There was a chorus of 'ooh's and 'aww's. WE broke apart and I looked Fang in the eye. I smiled at him and giggled- wow, I never thought I'd do that.

"Wow, I never thought Max would do that," Iggy said astounded.

"What; kiss Fang?" Nudge asked.

"No, giggle."

I laughed and rested my head on Fang's shoulder, my face facing my family and friends. This is how life is supposed to be. Fang was swaying us lightly and his head was resting on top of mine. For the first time in months, I felt at peace, happy, and at home.

**The End**

**Don't worry, I'll have sequels up and junk like that. LOL. Hope you liked it.**

**~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~**


	20. Sequel Notice

**Hey, this is an author's note.**

**In case any of you didn't know, the sequel is up.**

**It is called More Normalness and it's just the future of the Flock's lives after Our "Normal" Lives.**

**Hope you liked this story. I hope you'll like More Normalness.**


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